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How  TO  Make  Money  in 
THE  Printing  Business. 


A  Book  for  Master  Printers 

WHO    REALIZE     THAT     THERE    IS     A     PRACTICAL    SIDE    TO    THE 

ART,  AND   WHO   DESIRE   TO   KNOW   THE   SUREST 

METHODS    OF    MAKING    PROFITS. 

BY 

PAUL  NATHAN 

OF   THB 

LOTUS  PRESS. 


WITH   CONTRIBUTIONS   FROM    MANY   OF  THE   LEADING   PRINTERS 
OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


NEW    YORK  : 

THE   LOTUS   PRESS. 


1900. 


ilBRARY 
SCHOOL 


Copyright   1900 

BY 

Paul  Nathan, 


GIFT 


PREFACE 


There  are  in  existence  about  two  thousand  different 
books  pertaining  to  printing  and  typography,  and  per- 
haps as  many  more  that  are  partly  devoted  to  these 
subjects.  Of  this  large  number,  only  a  bare  half  dozen 
treat  of  the  business  management  of  a  printing  office, 
and  its  successful  operation  for  the  purpose  of  yielding 
that  profit  for  which  men  do  business.  In  the  half 
dozen  there  is  not  a  total  of  a  hundred  pages  directed 
toward  the  theme  of  the  present  work.  It  seems  to 
me  that  this  is  sufficient  excuse  for  bringing  this  book 
before  the  printing  trade.  For  years  the  cry  has  gone 
up  from  the  followers  of  Guttenberg  that  there  is  no 
money  in  the  printing  business,  that  competition  takes 
all  the  margin  out  of  the  work,  and  that  the  cost  for 
renewal  of  plants    has  eaten  up    the  profits. 

Personally,  I  have  found  that  the  printing  business 
yielded  satisfactory  profits,  as  much  as  one  could  expect 
in  a  strictly  competitive  business,  and  in  every  city  there 
are  men  who  have  made  money  in  this  trade;  yet  the 
diversity  of  opinion  as  to  profitable  methods,  and  the 
confusion  of  ideas  as  to  the  cost  of  producing  printing, 
has  led  me  to  the  conclusion  that  there  is  imperative 
need  of  an  exchange  of  views  for  the  better  education  of 
the  trade.  There  are  plenty  of  books  on  the  history  of 
the  art,  and  a  large  number  exhibiting  ornamental  print- 
ing and  the  methods  of  its  production,  but  the  practi- 
cal  financial   side   has   been  very   much   neglected.     In 

136 


PREFACE. 

this  book,  I  have  gathered  together  the  impressions  of 
some  of  the  leading  minds  in  the  trade  as  to  the  re- 
quisites to  the  profitable  management  of  the  printery. 
With  the  benefit  of  such  competent  advice,  I  feel  that  it 
is  not  presumptuous  to  undertake  to  lay  down  the  busi- 
ness rules  on  which  a  printing  office  must  be  managed 
in  order  to  make  money  for  its  proprietors. 

In  that  excellent  work,  Theodore  L.  De  Vinne's 
"  Printers'  Price  List,  "  I  took  my  first  lessons  in  con- 
ducting a  printery  for  profit.  Owing  to  the  fact  that 
conditions  and  machinery  have  changed  very  largely, 
the  figures  in  his  book  are  no  longer  applicable,  and  it 
has  long  been  out  of  print.  Other  works  relating  to 
the  cost  of  printing  have  been  laid  aside  for  similar 
reasons.  It  has  been  deemed  best  to  include  in  this 
book  very  few  figures,  and  to  avoid  the  quotation  of 
prices,  but  to  endeavor  to  lay  down  the  foundation 
principles  on  which  prices  should  be  based.  In  this 
way  the  book  may  serve  as  a  guide  for  many  years, 
as  the  essentials  to  making  a  profit  do  not  change  as 
quickly  as  do  the  prices. 

Where  so  little  has  been  written  upon  a  subject  it 
is  impossible  for  an  author  to  borrow  much  from  the 
experience  of  those  who  have  gone  before.  I  have 
been  obliged  to  lay  out  this  work  on  original  lines,  and 
have  combined  with  my  own  experience  the  wisdom  of 
representative  men  in  the  trade.  In  the  hope  that 
these  pages  will  be  read  with  both  mental  and  finan- 
cial profit  by  master  printers,  and  that  the  thoughts 
herein  spread  forth  may  live  to  add  to  the  general  pros- 
perity of  the  craft,  I  subscribe  myself, 

Yours  sincerely. 

New  York  City.  1900.  PAUL    NATHAN. 


TO 

^beoDore  Xow  2)e  IDinnc, 

THE     DEAN     OF    AMERICAN     PRINTERS, 

WHO    GAVE    ME   MY    FIRST  LESSONS 
IN  THE  MAKING  OF  PRICES, 

THIS   BOOK   IS  APPRECIATIVELY   DEDICATED. 


V^Wl^    1    L,  i  ^    I   iJ. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER 

I. 

The  Printer  as  a  Business  Man i 

II. 

Starting  an  Office 

I  I 

HI. 

What  Class  of  Customers  to  Seek 

21 

iV. 

How  TO  Develop  Business 

29 

V. 

Writing  Advertising  Matter,  etc. 

36 

VI. 

Taking  Orders            .         .         .         . 

42 

VII. 

Advertising 

50 

VIII. 

How  TO  Talk  to  Customers 

7» 

IX. 

The  Cost  of  Producing  Printing 

79 

X. 

Estimating 

91 

XI. 

Acquiring  Money        .... 

109 

XII. 

Price  Cutting 

114 

XIII. 

Competitors 

124 

XIV. 

Profit,  and  How  it  Should  be  Figured 

•34 

XV. 

Buying 

•43 

XVI. 

Doing  Good  Printing 

•49 

XVII. 

The  Composing-room 

156 

XVIII. 

The  Pressroom 

169 

XIX. 

The  Business  Office     .... 

181 

XX. 

Bookkeeping 

190 

XXI. 

Management  of  Employees 

201 

XXII. 

The  Employee's  Opportunity 

21 1 

XXIII. 

Danger  in  Side  Ventures 

218 

XXIV. 

Systematic  Saving       .... 

225 

XXV. 

Partnerships 

232 

XXVI. 

Leakages     

242 

XXVII. 

Keeping  Up  With  the  Times 

250 

KXVIII. 

Suggestions  From  Others  : 
Theodore  L.  De  Vinne 
Carl  Schraubstadter 
Wm.  J.  Berkowitz 
J.  Clyde  Oswald 
C.  S.  Morehouse 
Chas.  H.  Cochrane 
Henry  L.  Biillen 
Nathan  Billstein 
Jno.  W.  Campsie 
Sigmund  Ullman 

257 
260 

.        264 
266 
268 
269 
270 
272 
273 

.         276 

XXIX. 

The  Relation  of  Paper-Feeding  Machines 
IN  THE  Pressroom 

TO    P 

ROFIT 

279 

XXX. 

Timely  Hints 

J.  Cliff  Dando        .... 
F.  L.  Montague              ... 
Henry  A.  Wise  Wood 

301 
302 
302 
306 

Co^-XE^TS— Continued. 


The  American  Printer         ..... 

Advance  in  Typesetting  Machinery 

Paper  Joggers  and  Alarm  Counters     . 

How  Do  You  Buy  Your  Inks       .... 

Perfection  Wire  Stitchers 

Superiority  in  Types  .         .         .         .      '  . 

The  Best  in  Rollers  is  the  Cheapest 

Superior  Excellence  in  Platen  Presswork 

Buying  of  Printing  Inks 

Wesel  Specialties  for  Better-Class  Printing  Offices 
Money  Saving  Devices        ..... 
A  Word  About  Printing  Inks      .... 
Tympalyn  Saves  Make-Ready       .... 
Scott  Presses  are  Money-Makers 
The  Benedict  Imprint  Attests  Excellence  in  Plates 
Machinery  for  Engravers  .... 

Using  Illustrations  to  Increase  Printers'  Profits 
The  Merganthaler  Linotype        .... 
An  Expert  Opinion  Regarding  "  Century  "  Presses 
Making  a  Profit  on  Small  Work 

The  Golding  Jobber  

Why  Not  Make  Money  by  Buying  a  Press  That  W 

Lifetime  ? 

W.  A.  Nosworthy 

The  Huber  ....... 

J.  E.  Linde  Paper  Co.  .... 

Duplex  Printing  Press  Co.  .... 

Inland  Type  Foundry  .         .         .         .         . 

Typothet/e  and  Platemaker        .... 

Henry  Lindenmyer  &  Sons 


ill  Last  a 


PACE 
316 

3«7 
3'9 
320 
321 
322 
324 

325 
329 

330 

33  • 

339 
343 
344 
350 
358 
362 
}66 

37' 
376 

377 
378 
379 
380 

381 

382 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE   PRINTER   AS   A   BUSINESS   MAN. 

The  printer  who  embarks  in  business  is  supposed  to 
have  learned  his  trade  thoroughly,  and  as  a  rule  he  is  a 
superior  workman,  who  by  industry  and  economy  has 
been  able  to  save  enough  to  become  an  employer.  He 
is  seldom  a  business  man,  because  his  training  has  been 
in  an  entirely  different  direction.  The  young  printer  who 
thinks  that  he  can  run  a  printing  office  of  his  own  suc- 
cessfully because  he  knows  how  to  do  good  printing  has 
a  great  deal  to  learn,  and  quite  as  much  to  unlearn.  The 
education  of  the  composing  room  and  of  the  pressroom 
is  not  the  sort  of  education  that  fits  a  man  for  dealing  with 
customers,  making  prices,  buying  stock  and  machinery, 
contesting  with  shrewd  people  and  schemers,  and 
looking  after  the  scores  of  things  that  are  as  important  as 
the  actual  printing  that  is  done.  On  the  contrary,  such 
education  as  the  printer  receives  in  the  printery  often 
largely  unfits  him  for  taking  charge  of  the  business  end, 
and  this  is  a  prominent  reason  why  so  many  master 
printers  fail  to  make  money  and  simply  worrv  along, 
living  from  hand  to  mouth,  scrambling  to  meet  notes, 
never  attaining  a  competency,  and  perhaps  eventually 
going  back  to  the  case  or  to  the  press. 

A  false  notion  as  to  prices  and  profits  usuallv  rests  in 
the  mind  of  the  printer  who  is  thinking  of  starting  in 
business.     He  has  time  and  again  seen  the  prices  given 


2  THE    PRINTER    AS    A    BUSINESS   MAN. 

on  work  that  he  has  done,  and  noted  that  the  proprietor 
charged,  say  $12,  for  work  that  he,  the  workman,  per- 
formed for  $4  or  $5,  and  he  has  assumed  that  almost  all 
the  difference  went  into  the  proprietor's  pocket,  and  that 
if  he  started  a  printery  he  could  take  such  work  at  a  dollar 
or  two  less,  and  yet  earn  one-half  more  than  as  an  em- 
ployee. With  printing  enough  to  keep  five  or  six  men 
busy  he  has  calculated  that  he  can  pocket  the  wages  of 
two  men  or  more.  This  would-be  proprietor  seldom 
figures  on  dull  times,  but  always  sees  the  rosy  side,  and 
thinks  that  his  presses  will  never  be  idle,  or  his  customers 
fail  to  pay  their  bills.  This  is  not  at  all  an  overdrawn 
case.  It  is  the  most  usual  condition  of  mind  and  knowl- 
edge of  the  young  men  who  start  in  the  printing  business 
for  themselves.  It  is  a  dangerous  state  of  mind  because 
it  is  an  ignorant  one  that  wots  not  of  its  ignorance. 

Printers  are  above  the  average  in  intelligence  and 
education,  but  they  are  commonly  poor  business  men. 
If  beginners  in  business  had  any  proper  conception  of 
their  ignorance  of  business  methods,  of  what  utter  chil- 
dren they  are  in  the  business  world,  the  danger  would 
not  be  so  great,  for  they  would  pitch  in  and  learn  the 
conditions  before  they  embarked  in  business.  If  a  printer 
were  going  to  open  a  dry  goods  store  or  a  grocery,  a  shoe 
store  or  a  clothing  house,  he  would  understand  that  he 
must  know  something  of  business  management  or  expect 
to  fail;  but,  when  he  goes  into  the  printing  business, 
because  he  knows  the  trade,  he  naturally  thinks  that  he 
knows  it  all,  when  he  is  often  but  a  babbling  ignoramus 
in  business  matters  and  commercial  negotiations.  It  is  a 
hard  thing  to  make  others  realize  that  they  know  little  or 
nothing  of  a  particular  thing,  yet  the  successful  men  in 
the  printing  trade  know  that  only  men  who   are  first 


THE   PRINTER   AS   A    BUSINESS   MAN.  3 

made  conscious  of  their  ignorance  as  to  business  methods 
can  be  taught.  It  is  a  hard  road  to  success,  and  there  is 
a  deal  to  be  learned,  and  even  the  leaders  in  successful 
business  are  always  finding  that  some  fellow  has  got 
ahead  of  them  and  developed  new  means  of  progress  that 
they  had  failed  to  recognize.  How  necessary  it  is,  then, 
for  the  novice  in  the  printing  business  to  equip  himself 
with  knowledge  gleaned  from  the  experience  of  those 
who  have  gone  before! 

Let  none  be  offended  at  the  general  assumption  that 
beginners  in  the  printing  business,  and  many  who  are 
not  beginners,  are  ignorant.  It  is  not  that  they  are  uned- 
ucated or  uninformed  generally,  or  that  they  are  deficient 
in  the  mechanical  part  of  printing,  but  simply  that  they 
are  unfamiliar  with  what  are  popularly  termed  business 
methods. 

The  dry  goods  man,  the  grocer,  the  hatter,  etc.,  each 
-and  all  sell  articles  that  they  do  not  make,  and  they 
charge  the  public  from  twenty-five  to  fifty  per  cent, 
advance  upon  the  goods  they  handle,  and  more  often 
fifty  than  twenty-five.  That  percentage,  whatever  it  is, 
must  pay  all  the  expenses,  losses,  salary  and  profit.  It  is 
a  simple  proposition,  concerning  which  the  storekeeper 
cannot  readily  be  misled.  If  one  of  these  merchants  buys, 
say,  $10,000  worth  of  stock  in  a  year,  incurs  $3,000  of 
expenses,  sells  $15,000  worth,  and  has  $1,000  in  goods 
on  hand  as  dead  stock,  he  has  simply  earned  a  salary  of 
§2,000,  and  his  profit  will  be  what  he  can  realize  on  the 
dead  stock.  He  has  no  difficulty  in  knowing  the  cost 
price  of  his  goods,  and  little  in  calculating  the  percentage 
he  must  add.  To  achieve  the  result  figured  out  above  he 
has  to  collect  a  dollar  for  every  sixty  cents  worth  of  goods 
sold,  and,  as  some  customers  do  not  pay,  and  as  some 


4  THE   PRINTER   AS   A   BUSINESS   MAN. 

goods  have  to  be  sold  close  to  catch  custom,  he  has  been 
obliged  to  sell  most  of  his  goods  at  just  double  the  cost 
price.  It  is  broadly  true,  in  a  great  many  lines  of  business, 
that  the  selling  price  must  be  double  the  manufacturing 
cost  to  yield  an  adequate  return  to  the  merchant. 

The  printer  in  business  knows  these  facts  in  a  general 
way,  J3ut  he  is  too  often  led  astray  by  supposing  that 
when  he  pays  a  workman  $s  for  the  time  on  a  job  and 
collects  $io  from  the  customer,  that  he  is  doing  as  well  as 
the  storekeeper.  This  is  a  complete  fallacy,  and  the  lack 
of  appreciation  of  this  difference  has  sent  many  and  many 
a  printer  into  bankruptcy.  When  the  workman's  time 
on  a  job  foots  up  $5,  it  will  be  found  that  the  contingent 
expenses,  which  are  not  paid  for  directly,  usually  average 
more  than  another  $5,  so  that  the  cost  to  the  printer- 
proprietor  is  apt  to  be  about  $11,  and  the  selling  price, 
on  the  same  basis  as  the  storekeeper  does  business, 
requires  to  be  somewhere  between  $15  and  $20.  This  is 
gone  into  fully  and  demonstrated  in  the  chapter  on  *'  The 
Cost  of  Producing  Printing,"  and  the  reader  who  requires 
proof  of  the  assertion  will  find  plenty  of  it  there  to  satisfy 
him. 

To  learn  how  to  be  a  good  business  man  requires  of 
the  printer  that  he  first  learn  exactly  what  it  costs  him  to 
turn  out  his  work.  He  must  then  see  to  it  that  he  secures 
interest  on  his  capital,  a  salary,  a  margin  for  contingencies, 
and  a  final  profit  above  all;  otherwise  he  might  better  be 
out  of  business,  and  in  employment.  He  must  also  learn 
all  the  nice  methods  of  handling  men  and  getting  them 
to  pay  a  fair  price,  as  well  as  how  to  buy  his  own 
goods  at  bottom  figures.  Salesmen  who  deal  with 
printers  have  been  known  to  say  that  they  are  the  easiest 
class  of  men  to  overcharge ;  that  they  are  prone  to  believe 


THE    PRINTER   AS   A   BUSINESS   MAN.  5 

everything  that  they  are  told,  and  to  fail  to  see  the  tricks 
of  the  men  who  are  unloading  upon  them  with  no 
thought  other  than  to  get  a  price  for  the  goods;  that  they 
seldom  discount  their  bills,  even  when  there  is  one  per 
cent,  a  month  (or  12  per  cent,  a  year)  in  so  doing,  which 
is  perhaps  a  higher  percentage  than  they  make  on  the 
printing  that  they  do. 

The  printer  going  into  business  must  learn  that  there 
are  many  sharpers  in  the  world,  and  he  must  learn  to  dis- 
tinguish them  or  he  will  fall  by  the  way.  He  must  learn 
that  his  principal  business  is  no  longer  to  print  a  good 
job  and  admire  it,  but  to  buy  close  and  manage  without 
waste,  and  sell  for  all  that  he  can  get.  And  right  here 
there  is  room  for  a  sermon :  How  manv  printers  we  see 
spending  half  their  time  figuring  how  cheaply  they  can 
print  this  or  that  job,  whereas  their  true  object  in  busi- 
ness is  not  to  see  how  cheaply  they  can  do  work,  but 
how  much  they  can  get  for  the  work  they  do.  The  way 
to  charge  is  to  make  the  price  as  high  as  a  customer  will 
pay  without  being  driven  away,  and  not  to  make  it  as 
low  as  can  be  afforded.  That  is  business;  that  is  what 
we  are  all  in  business  for — to  make  money — to  gather  in 
i\  profit  from  the  labor  of  others,  greater  than  we  can 
earn  by  our  own  labor.  The  best  business  man  is  the  one 
who  gets  all  that  he  honestly  can,  and  the  poor  business 
man  is  the  one  who  always  works  too  cheaply.  There 
is  no  sentiment  about  doing  business  for  a  profit.  If  one 
is  charitably  inclined  he  can  give  away  the  money  he 
makes  in  business,  but  it  is  not  good  business  to  give  the 
profits  to  customers. 

When  the  printer  becomes  a  proprietor  he  requires  to 
forget,  in  a  measure,  that  he  is  a  printer,  and  to  bear  ever 
before  him  the  idea  that  he  is  a  business  man,  whose 


6  THE    PRINTER    AS    A    BUSINESS   MAN. 

duty  as  such  is  to  sell  printing  at  a  profitable  figure.  By 
being  a  good  printer  he  will  be  able  the  more  easily  to 
sell  at  a  top  price;  but  if  a  man  in  the  printing  business 
had  to  choose  between  being  a  good  printer  and  a  good 
business  man  he  had  better  choose  the  latter  a  hundred 
and  one  times  out  of  a  hundred.  As  a  business  man  his 
place  is  no  longer  at  the  case  or  over  the  cylinder.  He 
should  hire  others  and  make  a  profit  on  their  work — that 
is  business;  that  is  a  legitimate  way  of  making  money, 
and  he  who  has  not  learned  it  is  not  yet  qualified  as  a 
business  man. 

A  few  printers  have  the  advantage  of  growing  up  in 
business  under  the  guidance  of  some  successful  master- 
printer  who  has  kept  up  with  the  times,  and  who  has 
been  willing  to  impart  his  business  knowledge  to  those 
under  him.  This  is  often  the  case  with  sons,  who  are 
educated  to  perpetuate  a  large  business,  and  who  come 
naturally  by  the  training  passed  on  to  them  by  an  experi- 
enced parent;  but  the  rank  and  file  of  printers  have  to 
pick  up  their  business  training  by  dear  experience. 
There  is  no  school  of  instruction  in  managing  the  business 
end  of  a  printing  office.  It  is  often  a  matter  of  complaint 
in  the  trade  that  so  little  chance  is  afforded  to  apprentices 
to  learn  the  trade  properly,  but  the  opportunities  for 
learning  how  to  manage  the  business  office  and  to  reap  a 
profit  from  printing  are  less  common  than  those  of  the 
apprentice  who  strives  to  master  the  mechanical  details 
of  the  art. 

The  beginner  in  the  printing  business,  and  the  man 
who  has  been  in  it  for  some  years  and  failed  to  make  a 
profit,  both  suffer  from  the  lack  of  an  adviser.  There  is 
no  fount  of  general  information  to  which  either  can  go 
and  gather  the  knowledge  of  how  to  make  money  out  of 


THE    PRINTER    AS   A    BUSINESS   MAN.  7 

the  printing  office.  The  people  who  have  learned  it  do 
not  go  about  advising  young  competitors  how  to  succeed, 
and  if  such  do  occasionally  drop  a  word  of  good,  season- 
able advice  to  a  beginner,  ten  to  one  the  young  man  in 
business  suspects  that  it  is  a  pointer  given  to  mislead  him, 
and  goes  contrary  to  the  advice.  This  is  usually  the  case 
when  an  established  printer  remonstrates  with  a  new- 
comer in  the  field  as  to  cutting  prices.  The  newcomer  is 
sure  to  think  that  the  established  printer  is  simply  worked 
up  because  he  is  losing  trade  to  him,  and  so  the  young- 
ster in  business  laughs  in  his  sleeve,  and  goes  on  cutting 
rates  to  his  own  ruin  and  the  damage  of  the  trade  in  his 
vicinity.  It  is  natural  that  a  beginner  in  business  should 
think  that  the  way  to  get  work  is  to  lower  the  prices; 
but  the  men  who  have  been  there  know  that  the  way  to 
get  customers  worth  having  is  to  keep  up  both  the  quality 
and  the  price. 

The  first  thing,  then,  that  a  printer  contemplating  going 
into  business  should  study  is  the  business  methods  of 
successful  concerns.  If  he  does  not  know  them  he  is 
sure  to  lose  money;  if  he  appreciates  his  lack  of  such 
knowledge  he  will  find  a  way  to  acquire  it,  and  it  is 
cheaper  to  learn  before  an  investment  is  made  in  type  and 
presses  than  it  is  to  learn  afterwards  by  the  dear  road 
of  experience.  Happy  is  the  man  who  can  thrive  on  the 
experience,  and  pass  the  mistakes,  of  others.  The  rules 
and  principles  that  guide  experienced  men  of  business  are 
too  often  dearly  bought.  I  recently  heard  a  good  printer 
and  good  business  man  say,  "I  did  thousands  of  dollars 
worth  of  printing  before  1  really  knew  what  it  cost  to 
produce  it,  and  I  ought  to  have  received  ten  to  twenty 
per  cent,  more  for  the  work  that  I  did  in  those  years,  and 
I  might  have  had  it,  had  I  known  what  1  now  know." 


«  THE   PRINTER    AS   A   BUSINESS   MAN. 

This  book  is  an  endeavor  to  gather  together  and  form- 
ulate the  underlying  principles  which  should  govern  the 
printer  as  a  business  man.  In  its  compilation  the  views 
of  various  successful  printers  have  been  more  or  less 
embodied,  and  the  means  that  they  have  employed  to 
erect  and  maintain  their  business  structures  have  been 
studied  and  reduced  to  manuscript.  From  the  compli- 
cated nature  of  the  case  it  is  impossible  to  form  set  rules 
for  the  guidance  of  the  printer  in  all  exigencies  of  busi- 
ness. Every  matter  that  comes  before  him  for  consider- 
ation has  some  points  of  difference  from  every  other 
instance,  and  must  be  decided  according  to  the  best  light 
and  knowledge  that  he  has  at  the  time.  In  such  a  work 
we  can  deal  with  principles  only,  and  he  who  applies  the 
principles  most  accurately  is  likely  to  become  the  most 
successful  business  printer. 

A  printer  may  be  a  good  business  man  in  some 
respects  and  yet  seriously  lacking  in  others,  and  that  too 
without  realizing  where  he  is  weak.  I  have  seen  men 
who  knew  how  to  buy  paper  and  presses  to  the  very  best 
advantage,  securing  the  last  item  of  discount  and  most 
favorable  terms,  but  who  were  always  at  the  mercy  of  a 
customer  who  gave  the  bluff  that  so-and-so  would  do  a 
particular  job  for  so  much  less  money.  Then  again  I 
have  seen  a  printer  who  was  a  past  master  in  the  art  of 
talking  to  customers,  and  who  knew  how  to  satisfy  all 
and  get  the  highest  prices  for  his  work,  but  who  did  not 
know  enough  to  protect  himself  against  the  drummer, 
but  invariably  paid  the  top  price  going,  frequently  for  an 
inferior  article.  Men  of  this  sort  do  well  in  partnership, 
where  the  talents  of  each  can  be  utilized,  but  the  man 
who  finds  himself  weak  in  some  business  essential  should 
cultivate  improvement  in  that  particular  ;   and  the  man 


THE    PRINTER    AS    A    BUSINESS   MAN.  9 

who  thinks  himself  strong  in  all  points  should  watch 
himself  to  learn  whether  he  has  not  weaknesses  of  which 
other  shrewd  business  men  will  take  advantage. 

The  art  of  business  is  more  than  a  knowledge  of 
trade  —  it  involves  a  knowledge  of  men,  and  the  ability 
to  lead  them  to  do  what  you  desire.  It  is  the  business  of 
a  printer  to  see  that  his  customers  should  have  lots  of  good 
orders  for  printing,  and  to  accomplish  this  he  must  be 
able  to  show  them  how  and  where  it  will  pay  to  increase 
an  order.  The  printer  should  ever  be  urging  on  the  cus- 
tomer that  if  a  thing  is  worth  doing  at  all  it  is  worth  doing 
well,  and  that  such  and  such  things  would  improve  the 
job  in  hand.  To  impress  customers,  and  get  them  to 
take  advice,  involves  a  wide  knowledge  of  human  nature, 
and  the  peculiar  gifts  of  a  salesman.  The  business  printer 
who  finds  that  he  has  not  these  in  his  make-up  will  hire 
a  man  or  take  in  a  partner  who  has,  and  devote  his  own 
time  to  pushing  other  branches  of  the  business. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  printer  who  is  already  a  good 
business  man  will  read  this  book  and  add  to  and  com- 
pare with  his  own  ripe  experience,  while  the  printer  who 
is  not  yet  a  business  man  will  receive  hints  which  will 
cause  him  to  study  business  methods,  and  the  art  of  so 
managing  a  printery  that  the  receipts  shall  always  exceed 
the  outgo. 

Tyros  in  the  printing  business  are  often  deceived  as- 
to  their  success  during  the  first  few  years  of  a  career. 
Because  the  presses  are  busy  and  the  cash  comes  and 
goes,  they  think  that  they  are  doing  a  good  rushing 
business;  but  as  the  years  roll  on  and  the  presses  become 
ancient  and  the  type  worn,  and  no  balance  has  been 
accumulated  in  the  bank  to  renew  the  material,  they 
realize  that  they  have  been  dupes  to  circumstances  instead 


lO  THE    PRINTER    AS   A    BUSINESS   MAN. 

of  successful  business  men.  One  of  the  most  prosperous 
printers  whom  I  ever  met  has  several  times  expressed 
himself  to  this  effect  :  "1  never  could  see  the  use  of  doing 
printing  for  anybody  unless  1  was  quite  sure  that  I  would 
get  more  for  it  than  1  paid  out,  and  1  never  trusted  a  man 
or  firm  beyond  a  certain  sum,  no  matter  how  high  they 
were  rated,  as  I  do  not  furnish  capital  for  others  to  carry 
on  business.  The  enforcement  of  these  rules  turns  away 
a  large  part  of  the  work  that  is  offered  me,  but  I  do  not 
think  that  I  have  ever  lost  any  money  by  insisting  upon 
them." 

It  is  well  to  get  down  to  basic  principles  once  in  a 
while,  and  strip  an  argument  of  all  its  confusing  detail. 
In  the  present  case  all  the  discussion  as  to  what  makes  a 
printer  a  good  business  man  or  a  poor  one  may  be 
summed  up  in  this  short  sentence:  The  printer  who  is 
a  good  business  man  is  he  who  has  mastered  the  art  of 
getting  considerably  more  for  his  work  than  he  pays  for 
its  production.  Never  forget  this  —  from  a  purely  busi- 
ness standpoint  all  else  is  trivial  —  charge  a  profitable  price 
and  see  that  you  get  the  money. 


CHAPTER  II. 

STARTING   AN   OFFICE. 

The  first  point  to  be  considered  in  starting  a  job  print- 
ing office  is  whether  there  is  a  prospect  of  securing  a 
desirable  run  of  custom.  If  there  is  no  trade  in  sight  there 
is  no  call  for  the  starting  of  a  printery;  if  the  work  in  the 
field  is  already  in  the  hands  of  competent  printers  who 
are  giving  satisfaction,  it  is  a  doubtful  matter  whether  it 
can  be  secured  at  a  profitable  rate.  When  an  apparently 
good  opening  is  found,  it  should  be  canvassed  with  the 
greatest  care.  Suppose,  for  instance,  that  a  printer  is 
disposed  to  open  a  printing  office  in  a  city  of  25,000 
inhabitants,  where  there  are  already  two  job  offices  and 
five  newspaper  offices  doing  job  work.  He  should  inves- 
tigate, first,  how  much  printing  there  is  to  give  out  in  the 
city,  and  then  whether  it  is  done  mostly  by  the  local 
offices  or  whether  a  considerable  percentage  goes  out  of 
town.  The  amount  being  approximately  known,  he  must 
consider  how  much  of  that  work  he  would  have  to  secure 
to  make  a  satisfactory  business;  then  his  chances  for 
getting  that  share  require  to  be  thoroughly  investigated. 
What  are  the  facilities  and  the  character  of  the  offices 
already  in  the  field  ?  Are  they  up  to  date,  and  are  the 
proprietors  hustlers.^  If  so,  they  may  be  able  to  hold 
their  work  against  all  comers. 

In  choosing  a  city  for  starting  an  office,  the  wise 
printer  will  not  decide  because  his  liking  is  toward  a  place 


12  STARTING    AN    OFFICE. 

socially  or  for  non-business  reasons,  when  other  places 
offer  better  openings.  He  should  choose  a  city  that  has 
established  manufactories,  and  that  is  growing;  one  in 
which  the  merchants  are  good  advertisers,  and  in  which 
there  are  societies  and  organizations  requiring  printing. 
If  he  does  not  take  these  things  into  account  he  may  find 
later  that  it  is  impossible  to  develop  trade  beyond  a  very 
limited  amount.  The  printer  who  would  succeed  in 
business  must  make  sure  that  he  starts  rightly,  else  his 
subsequent  efforts  may  be  largely  fruitless. 

A  proper  field  may  often  be  selected  for  a  printery  by 
reason  of  some  offer  or  opportunity  for  controlling  large 
work.  If  a  printer  knows  that  he  can  get  the  work  of  a 
large  concern  as  a  nucleus,  this  may  be  a  sufficient  induce- 
ment to  start  in.  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  it  is  ever 
wise  to  start  a  printing  office  without  advance  assurance 
of  considerable  work  at  remunerative  prices;  for  if  one 
cannot  get  the  promise  of  work  before  starting,  how  can 
one  expect  to  do  much  better  after  putting  in  a  plant  ? 

it  is  almost  always  a  safe  thing  to  start  a  job  print- 
ing plant  in  connection  with  a  good  daily  or  weekly 
newspaper  in  a  live  town  or  city,  for  the  paper  brings 
custom  to  the  job  department.  For  this  reason  it  is 
always  a  doubtful  matter  whether  a  job  office  unconnected 
with  a  newspaper  can  be  made  to  pay  in  a  small  city  or 
town.  If  such  an  office  has  to  depend  on  the  work  of 
merchants,  churches,  societies,  politicians,  etc.,  it  will  be 
found  that  these  all  drift  toward  the  newspaper  office, 
because  they  want  notices  in  the  paper.  But  where 
there  are  manufactories,  or  where  there  is  book  publish- 
ing, the  newspaper  does  not  carry  an  influence;  in  fact, 
the  job  printer  who  is  divorced  from  a  newspaper  probably 
has  the  best  chance  of  commanding  the  work.     In  cities 


STARTING   AN   OFFICE.  1 3 

above  25,000  it  is  almost  always  possible  for  some  one 
firm  to  build  up  a  large  job  printing  business  aside  from  a 
newspaper;  below  10,000  it  is  almost  always  best  to  be 
tied  to  a  newspaper,  and  between  the  two  populations 
circumstances  must  determine  the  choice. 

When  a  printer  has  fully  made  up  his  mind  that  he  is 
in  the  right  town,  and  when  he  has  definite  assurances  of 
a  reasonable  amount  of  work  at  starting,  and  a  fair  pros- 
pect of  developing  more,  he  must  next  consider  whether 
he  has  the  requisite  capital  to  make  a  proper  start.  It  is 
a  mistake  to  begin  with  too  little  money,  for  interest 
payments,  combined  with  inadequate  f^icilities,  will  eat 
up  all  the  profits  and  afford  very  limited  chances  of 
success.  Remember  that  we  are  considering  the  starting 
of  an  office  that  must  be  a  success,  that  must  be  a  money- 
earner,  and  not  the  case  of  a  printer  who  must  start  an 
office,  and  trust  to  chance  for  the  result.  I  doubt 
whether  it  is  ever  desirable  for  a  printer  to  start  business 
with  less  than  half  enough  capital  to  pay  for  his  plant. 
A  young  man  with  $1,000  may  start  a  $1,500  plant,  pay 
half  cash,  and  bank  $250  to  run  on  until  the  receipts  will 
carry  him,  and  if  he  gets  the  work,  and  is  economical, 
he  can  pay  off  his  mortgage  and  later  add  to  his  plant. 
But  the  young  man  with  only  $500,  who  tries  to  do  the 
same  thing,  can  pay  only  one-fourth  down  on  his  plant, 
and  the  dealers  will  charge  him  a  large  advance  before 
they  will  gamble  on  him,  and  take  the  chances  of  selling 
the  machinery  and  type.  Then  he  will  have  only  enough 
money  left  to  pay  his  freight,  a  month's  rent,  and  a  few 
minor  expenses,  and  by  the  time  his  first  job  goes  on  press 
he  is  out  of  cash,  and  before  the  first  ninety  days  roll 
around,  when  he  has  to  pay  his  first  note,  he  realizes  that 
he  is  in  a  hole.     Such  a  man  puts  his  nec\\  deliberately 


14  STARTING  AN   OFFICE. 

into  the  noose  of  trouble,  and  the  chances  are  ten  to  one 
that  he  will  never  get  it  out  without  being  choked. 
How  much  better,  then,  for  him  to  wait  another  two 
years,  when  the  savings  from  his  wages  would  enable 
him  to  start  on  a  $i,ooo  basis. 

I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  advocating  that 
$i,ooo  is  the  proper  sum  with  which  to  start  a  $1,500 
office,  but  simply  that  this  is  my  idea  of  the  limit  of  debt 
that  may  be  safely  contracted.  1  think  that  probably  two 
times  out  of  three  the  printer  with  $1,000  had  better  wait 
until  he  gets  more  money  before  starting.  In  large  cities 
it  is  folly  for  a  printer  to  begin  business  with  $1,000  or 
even  $2,000.  These  amounts  may  be  sufficient  in  smaller 
places,  but  in  a  great  city  the  small  printer  is  so  handi- 
capped by  the  superior  facilities  of  the  big  offices  that  he 
usually  fails  to  earn  as  much  as  the  men  in  his  employ. 
He  is  only  able  to  exist  at  all  by  hiring  cheap  help,  having 
feeders  do  the  work  of  pressmen,  and  two-thirders  do  the 
composition,  and  these  things  entail  a  chain  of  ills  which 
no  man  would  voluntarily  and  knowingly  encounter. 

A  printer  with  $2,000  or  $3,000,  and  an  aching  to  go 
into  business  in  a  great  city,  had  better  take  stock  in  a 
large  concern,  where  his  investment  will  secure  him  a 
foremanship  with  a  good  salary,  and  then  hustle  for  the 
establishment,  and  try  to  work  his  way  up  to  a  larger 
holding  and  greater  salary.  Or  he  may  make  a  success 
in  an  office  of  his  own  if  he  can  induce  outside  investors 
to  back  his  small  capital  with  $5,000  to  $10,000,  thus 
giving  him  a  chance  to  buy  the  best  class  of  machinery, 
even  if  the  quantity  is  limited.  This  involves  a  knowledge 
of  finance  and  business  that  does  not  come  to  a  printer 
fresh  from  the  case,  and  should  not  be  undertaken  except 
by  a  man  who  is  confident  that  his  business  training  is 


STARTING   AN    OFFICE.  I  5 

sufficient  to  enable  him  to  cope  with  the  emergencies  that 
will  arise.  In  accepting  outside  capital  he  must  take  care 
that  he  is  not  saddled  with  an  untrained  and  useless 
partner,  who  is  eating  up  a  salary  that  he  does  not 
earn.  The  safe  rule  is  not  to  accept  outside  capital  if 
offered  with  hampering  restrictions.  Money  can  be  ob- 
tained by  many  competitors  at  six  per  cent.,  and  if  you 
pay  more  for  it  you  are  at  a  disadvantage,  and  liable  to 
go  to  the  wall. 

With  enough  work  in  sight,  and  sufficient  money  to 
make  a  good  start,  the  printer  next  requires  to  consider  a 
location.  The  beginner  is  all  too  apt  to  look  for  a  cheap 
rental.  Here  it  should  be  remembered  that  cheap  things 
are  seldom  good.  While  a  job  printer  does  not  require 
to  be  as  conspicuously  loca-ted  as  a  dry  goods  man,  he 
does  require  to  be  in  as  good  or  a  better  place  than  any 
other  printer  in  his  town.  Location  always  influences 
trade,  and  has  much  to  do  with  securing  first  orders,  which 
are  everything  to  the  man  starting  a  printing  office.  Stick 
to  the  business  centre,  and  avoid  too  many  stairs.  If 
possible  secure  a  place  where  you  can  have  a  good  sign 
privilege,  and  use  it  for  all  it  is  worth.  Do  not  try  to  save 
too  much  on  rental,  for  it  is  poor  economy.  You  must 
be  where  people  can  see  you  without  going  out  of  their 
way,  if  you  are  to  have  the  trade.  Remember,  too,  that 
you  cannot  afford  to  be  where  there  is  a  poor  light,  as  it 
wastes  the  time  of  workmen.  Neither  can  you  afford  to 
go  into  a  shaky  building,  where  there  are  other  tenants 
who  pay  more  rent  than  you,  for  as  sure  as  you  do,  the 
jar  and  vibration  of  your  presses  will  make  trouble  that 
may  be  expensive  for  you.  The  printer  who  neglects  this 
warning  will  almost  always  live  to  be  sorry  for  it.  If  you 
can  get  your  presses  on  a  solid  floor,  away  from  those 


1 6  STARTING    AN    OFFICE. 

whom  they  may  annoy,  with  good  light  and  a  central 
locality,  you  can  afford  to  pay  a  rental  that  otherwise 
might  seem  high. 

Probably  volumes  have  been  printed  on  the  choice  of 
material  for  an  office,  and  volumes  more  might  be  pub- 
lished without  throwing  much  more  light  on  the  subject, 
for  the  choice  must  be  different  in  every  case,  and  must  suit 
the  circumstances.  Everything  offered  the  printer  by  the 
manufacturers  and  dealers  has  some  utility,  and  may  be 
used  to  advantage  somewhere,  but  the  type  and  presses 
suited  to  some  classes  of  work  are  sometimes  wholly 
useless  in  a  printery  of  a  different  character.  We  have  all 
seen  tables  of  what  to  buy  in  starting  a  $i,ooo  office  or  a 
$2,000  office,  and  lists  of  type  that  some  one  thought  best 
suited  to  general  job  work.  I  regard  such  lists  as  prac- 
tically useless,  for  the  choice  must  be  dependent  on  the 
work  that  is  to  be  handled  and  the  pocketbook  that 
pays  the  bill. 

A  word  of  warning  is  in  place  here  against  the  purchase 
of  second-hand  material.  It  is  almost  always  the  dearest 
in  the  long  run.  A  printer  starting  with  inadequate 
capital  often  thinks  it  better  to  buy  one  hundred  fonts  of 
second-hand  type  than  to  spend  the  same  money  for  fifty 
fonts  of  new  letter.  He  forgets  that  the  shortage  of  sorts 
in  the  second-hand  stuff  usually  renders  it  incapable  of 
setting  up  much  more  than  half  of  the  amount  which  can 
be  composed  from  new,  properly  assorted  type,  while  the 
difference  in  appearance  is  apt  to  be  fatal  to  the  production 
of  fine  work.  The  purchase  of  second-hand  presses  may 
not  affect  the  quality  of  the  work  produced,  as  the  good 
workman  will  turn  out  nice  work  on  almost  any  press, 
but  it  will  involve  the  loss  of  time,  that  largest  item  of 
expense  in  the  printing  business,  and  place  the  printer  at 


STARTING   AN   OFFICE.  1 7 

a  disadvantage  in  figuring  against  offices  supplied  with 
up-to-date  machinery. 

There  are  exceptions  to  all  rules,  and  just  so  there  are 
times  when  it  is  advisable  to  buy  at  second  hand.  Real 
bargains  are  sometimes  offered,  and  when  you  can  get 
just  what  your  office  stands  in  need  of  for  less  than  the 
market  price  because  the  article  is  blighted  as  second-hand, 
it  may  be  well  to  buy  it.  But  the  safe  rule  is — when  in 
doubt,  always  buy  the  newest  and  latest  material  or 
machinery. 

The  selection  of  the  first  lot  of  machinery  and  type  will 
depend  upon  the  character  of  the  work  that  is  contracted 
for  or  that  it  is  reasonably  certain  will  be  demanded.  The 
little  job  presses  are  money-earners  for  small  work,  but 
money-losers  if  used  on  book  work  or  for  long  runs. 
The  pony  cylinder  is  valuable  for  a  great  deal  of  miscellane- 
ous commercial  work,  but  when  it  comes  to  publications 
and  long  runs  of  large  sheets  there  is  nothing  like  the 
modern  two-revolution  or  perfecter  for  economy.  Just  so 
with  paper  cutters  :  for  small  stock  in  a  small  office  a 
light  machine  may  answer  every  purpose,  but  where  the 
cutter  is  kept  busy  all  day  long,  the  bigger  and  stronger 
it  is  the  better. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  in  this  age  to  tell  the  printer  to 
buy  job  type  in  series,  and  that  few  fonts  and  large  ones 
will  go  further  than  the  same  value  in  small  fonts.  Every 
good  printer  ought  to  know  these  facts,  and  this  book  is 
written  on  the  assumption  that  the  readers  are  already 
capable  printers  who  know  the  trade.  Yet  perhaps  this 
chapter  would  be  incomplete  without  a  repetition  of  these 
well-known  truths.  The  printer  should  buy  sparingly  at 
the  outset,  reserving  a  part  of  his  money  or  his  credit  for 
the  purchase  of  additions  that  may  be  demanded  by  special 


l8  STARTING    AN    OFFICE. 

work  coming  in.  When  type  is  bought  especially  for 
work  of  which  the  order  is  in  the  printer's  hands,  he  knows 
that  it  will  see  some  service,  whereas  that  bought  wholly 
in  advance  must  be  purchased  on  conjecture. 

Do  not  try  to  get  along  without  power.  No  printer 
can  afford  to  kick  a  press  nowadays  when  a  horse-power 
can  be  bought  for  from  $50  to  $100  a  year.  Electric 
power  is  very  convenient  for  the  printer,  as  it  costs 
nothing  when  idle.  The  motors  are  sold  very  cheaply, 
and  are  not  hard  to  keep  in  order.  In  the  country, 
steam  power  is  often  preferred  because  of  its  adaptability 
to  heating.  In  the  large  office,  where  the  horse-power 
runs  up  into  the  fifties  or  hundreds,  it  is  often  best  to  have 
a  complete  steam-power  plant,  which  may  be  used  either 
directly,  or  to  drive  a  dynamo  for  delivering  electricity  to 
motors.  The  gas  engine  is  very  useful  where  power  is 
required  only  at  certain  hours,  as  it  consumes  nothing 
when  not  in  use. 

For  further  details  and  comments  on  material,  see  the 
chapters  on  **The  Composing  Room"  and  *'The  Press- 
room." 

It  is  well  to  fit  up  the  business  office  attractively  from 
the  very  start.  If  you  have  good  office  furniture,  a  neat 
carpet,  and  comfortable  surroundings,  these  serve  to  impress 
customers  with  the  idea  that  the  establishment  is  reliable 
and  substantial,  whereas  a  mean  or  cheap-looking  office, 
or  an  old  desk  set  in  a  corner  for  use  as  an  office,  impresses 
buyers  of  printing  with  the  notion  that  it  is  a  cheap  place, 
whence  high-class  printing  can  not  be  expected.  Just  as 
a  job  of  printing  must  have  all  the  refinements  essential  to 
good  work  to  produce  the  proper  effect,  just  so  the  business 
office  requires  to  be  fitted  up  attractively  to  draw  custom 
and  assist  in  the  securing  of  good  prices. 


STARTING   AN   OFFICE.  1 9 

The  careful  printer  will  never  take  any  unnecessary 
•chances  in  starting  an  office.  Of  course  any  new  business 
involves  a  certain  amount  of  risk,  but  the  chances  of  loss 
will  be  very  large  for  those  who  neglect  the  simple  rules 
laid  down  as  the  result  of  experience  and  the  exercise  of 
common  sense.  It  is  unwise  to  force  a  start  when  cir- 
cumstances will  not  lend  themselves  to  make  the  condi- 
tions good.  If  there  is  a  little  uncertainty  about  getting 
all  the  needed  money,  or  if  the  work  expected  is  only 
half  promised,  or  if  a  period  of  panic  and  hard  times  has 
just  set  in,  or  if  proper  rooms  cannot  be  rented,  it  is  best 
to  wait,  for  any  of  these  things  can  be  bettered  in  time  ; 
but  if  a  start  is  made  with  any  such  handicaps,  a  con- 
tinual menace  overhangs  the  whole  structure.  When  the 
printer  is  satisfied  that  the  conditions  for  starting  are  as 
good  as  can  be  fairly  expected,  and  the  whole  enterprise 
commends  itself  to  his  judgment,  he  should  then  have 
the  courage  of  his  convictions  and  go  ahead  energetically, 
remembering  that  it  is  well  not  to  do  things  by  halves, 
and  that  in  order  to  print  at  a  profit  he  must  have  good 
tools  and  labor-saving  devices.  The  printer  who  starts 
thus,  barring  accidents  and  unforeseeable  and  unsurmount- 
able  obstacles,  has  a  good  chance  to  succeed. 

By  doing  business  in  a  fair  manner,  always  demanding 
a  fair  profit,  and  never  delivering  a  poor  job  or  permitting 
delays;  by  holding  out  no  false  promises,  but  meeting 
all  obligations  promptly,  the  printer  who  can  do  good 
work  has  a  very  good  chance  of  attaining  a  competency 
in  business.  There  are  many  printers  who  argue  that 
job  work  is  a  poor  business,  that  it  is  crowded  to  death, 
and  that  there  is  no  money  in  it,  and  never  will  be.  But 
these  are  men  who  did  not  start  right,  and  who  never 
managed   to  get  right,  so  as  to  acquire  the  habits  that 


20  STARTING   AN   OFFICE. 

lead  to  success.  There  is  money  in  the  top  ranks  of 
printerdom,  just  as  much  as  in  the  top  ranks  of  any  trade, 
and  plenty  of  profitable  business  for  those  who  have  the 
push,  pluck,  perseverance  and  probity  essential  to  reach- 
ing the  upper  levels. 


CHAPTER  III. 

WHAT  CLASS  OF  CUSTOMERS  TO  SEEK. 

While  it  is  perhaps  the  general  impression  that  the 
customer  chooses  his  printer,  yet  it  is  equally  true  that 
the  successful  printer  chooses  his  own  customers.  Just 
as  the  superior  workman  may  select  his  own  employer, 
because  any  and  all  are  glad  to  have  him,  so  the  supe- 
rior master  printer  may  take  his  pick  of  the  best-paying 
customers  in  his  territory,  if  he  be  an  adept  in  handling 
them. 

Customers  may  be  divided  into  several  classes: 
1.  Those  customers  who  do  not  care  what  they  pay. 
To  this  class  belong  officers  of  certain  institutions, 
societies,  departments  of  government,  etc.  The  money 
for  the  printing  they  order  does  not  come  out  of  their 
pockets,  and  they  know  that  they  will  never  be  called 
upon  for  a  strict  accounting  of  its  expenditure.  It  is  the 
duty  of  the  printer  who  caters  to  them  to  make  things 
pleasant,  save  them  all  possible  \rouble,  cultivate  their 
personal  friendship,  give  them  perfect  work,  prompt 
delivery  and  all  the  conveniences  and  extras  desired,  as 
they  willingly  pay  for  such  service.  These  are  a  good, 
easy  class  of  customers,  of  which  almost  every  printer 
has  one  or  more  on  his  books.  Few  printers  fail  to 
cater  to  them,  though  I  have  known  some  who  did 
not  know  enough  to  render  themselves  agreeable  to  this 
class.     A  failure  to  be  specially  polite   and   attentive  to 


22  WHAT   CLASS   OF   CUSTOMERS   TO   SEEK. 

such  may  easily  result  in  the  loss  of  their  custom,  wViich 
is  sure  to  be  wanted  by  others. 

2.  Customers  who  prefer  to  pay  a  high  price,  if 
this  insures  them  a  better  article.  All  such  require  to 
be  handled  with  much  care.  They  are  often  notional, 
and  not  always  easy  to  recognize  at  first  meeting. 
When  such  a  customer  is  once  found,  he  can  usually  be 
retained  by  giving  him  the  best  work,  and  occasionally 
calling  his  attention  to  the  fact  that ''We  charge  you  a 
little  more  than  others,  but  we  take  extra  pains  with 
everything."  This  class  of  customers  should  be  cultivated 
and  developed.  There  are  many  brainy  men  among 
them,  men  who  handle  money  by  the  thousands,  and 
whose  business  ventures  are  often  so  dependent  on  the 
effect  of  a  good  piece  of  printing  that  they  cannot  afford 
to  take  chances  of  mediocrity,  much  less  inferiority.  They 
prefer  to  go  to  the  printer  who  has  a  reputation. 

3.  Customers  who  do  not  object  to  paying  the 
highest  market  price  if  they  have  a  practical  guarantee 
of  the  best  service.  To  this  class  belong  the  most 
substantial  and  desirable  customers  in  the  trade.  Men 
and  firms  that  carry  their  enterprises  to  a  successful 
issue,  that  push  and  prosper,  largely  contribute  to  make 
up  this  class.  It  is  foolish  to  cut  prices  too  closely  for 
such  customers.  They  want  only  the  best  work,  and  if 
a  way  can  be  shown  to  better  it,  they  will  pay  the  extra 
cost;  but  they  are  hard-headed  enough  to  insist  that 
they  get  the  very  best.  They  do  not  take  any  stock  in  the 
fancy  prices  that  sometimes  affect  class  2;  they  want  the 
best,  and  want  it  on  a  square  business  basis.  They  are 
the  kind  of  customers  of  which  the  printer  stands  most 
in  need,  and  the  best  efforts  of  every  printer  should  be 
bent  towards  getting  their  work.     The  first  two  classes 


WHAT   CLASS   OF   CUSTOMERS   TO   SEEK.  2} 

are  limited  in  numbers,  and  it  is  more  or  less  a  matter 
of  luck  how  many  of  them  are  secured,  but  in  this  class 
there  is  always  room  for  development  —  always  more 
customers  who  can  be  brought  into  it.  The  wise  printer 
will  always  be  devising  ways  and  means  for  educating 
average  customers  into  those- of  this  class.  They  are  the 
main-stays  of  the  large  houses,  and  furnish  the  bulk  of 
the  patronage  to  the  most  successful  printeries. 

4.  Customers  who  must  have  good  printing,  but 
who  will  pay  for  it  only  when  they  have  to.  Every 
printer  finds  himself  obliged  to  deal  more  or  less  with 
this  class.  It  is  difficult  to  make  money  out  of  them, 
yet  it  can  be  done  by  careful  and  judicious  dealing. 
The  printer  who  works  for  such  must  be  absolutely 
inflexible  as  to  his  terms  and  prices;  must  insist  on 
short  credits  and  stop  work  when  payments  are  slow; 
must  afford  no  loopholes  for  deductions  and  return 
charges;  must  demand  a  cash  profit  on  all  he  does  for 
them,  and  take  no  chances  on  the  evasion  of  payment. 
When  it  becomes  a  doubtful  matter  with  the  printer 
whether  he  can  hold  his  own  and  get  a  profit  out  of 
such  a  customer,  it  is  best  to  drop  him.  Let  him  go 
every  time  when   he  degenerates  into  the  class  below. 

5.  Customers  who  make  it  a  rule  to  protest  about 
errors,  shortages,  delays,  etc.,  always  claiming  a  rebate, 
and  refusing  to  pay  the  full  price  charged.  This  class 
should  be  let  severely  alone,  and  the  printer  who  has 
the  good  of  the  trade  at  heart  will  pass  around  among 
competitors  the  names  of  firms  whose  trade  is  objec- 
tionable on  this  account.  Cash  with  the  order  is  the 
only  consideration  that  should  induce  any  one  to  touch 
the  work  of  such  people,  as  otherwise  experience  with 
them  will   develop   only  profitless  vexation.      They  are 


24  WHAT   CLASS   OF   CUSTOMERS   TO   SEEK. 

sure  to  keep  the  printer  poor  if  they  get  the  chance,  and 
even  the  poorest  and  least  wise  printer  will  sooner  or 
later  show  them  the  door. 

6.  Customers  who  are  satisfied  with  medium  quality, 
and  who  demand  a  very  close  price.  There  are  hosts 
of  such;  probably  they  are  the  most  numerous  class  of 
customers.  A  careful  printer  can  make  wages  out  of 
them,  and  no  more.  It  is  impossible  to  keep  up  a 
reputation  for  fme  work,  while  retaining  many  patrons 
of  this  sort.  They  will  not  pay  for  those  extra  touches 
that  distinguish  fine  work  from  the  ordinary  kind.  The 
most  successful  printers  ignore  this  class.  1  have  known 
the  head  of  an  eminent  house  to  instruct  the  men  who 
waited  on  his  customers  to  tell  such  people,  "We  are 
very  busy;  why  don't  you  go  down  to  Blank's.^  I  guess 
that  he  will  accommodate  you."  Blank  thinks  that  the 
eminent  printer  is  singularly  kind,  and  hustles  sixteen 
hours  a  day,  working  for  this  class  of  people  and  making 
a  bare  living.  Is  it  worth  while  to  go  into  the  printing 
business  for  such  a  result.^  There  might  be  more  money, 
and  certainly  there  would  not  be  more  work,  in  running 
an  all-night  restaurant,  or  something  of  that  sort.  Much 
time  may  be  wasted  by  the  printer  in  estimating  for 
this  class.  A  good  way  to  avoid  it  is  to  inquire  of 
every  stranger  asking  figures  on  a  large  job,  what  offices 
are  estimating  on  the  work,  and  if  it  appears  that  he  is 
seeking  a  number  of  estimates  from  second-class  offices 
he  is  then  surely  a  No.  6  customer,  whose  trade  is  of 
very  doubtful  value. 

7.  Customers  who  think  that  they  are  shrewd,  and 
who  never  will  give  an  order  unless  they  receive  numer- 
ous discounts  and  a  big  fall  from  the  first  price.  The 
chief  difficulty  with  such  customers   lies   in  recognizing 


WHAT   CLASS   OF   CUSTOMERS   TO   SEEK.  2^ 

their  character  at  first  sight.     With  judgment  they  may 
often  be  handled  to  a  profit. 

8.  Customers  who  do  not  care  what  the  quality  of 
work  may  be  so  long  as  it  is  cheap.  A  very  undesirable 
class,  working  for  whom  tends  to  ruin  a  printer's  repu- 
tation for  ability  to  do  fine  work. 

9.  Customers  who  can  be  dealt  with  only  on  a  C.  O. 
D.  basis.  This  class  is  made  up  of  schemers,  indigents 
and  unreliable  people  generally.  All  printers  must  expect 
to  have  to  do  with  them,  and  sometimes  there  is  profit 
enough  in  their  work,  provided  great  care  is  exercised 
in  securing  deposits  in  advance,  and  getting  the  balance 
of  the  cash  before  the  work  leaves  the  printing  office. 
Some  of  this  class  are  deliberate  swindlers,  and  such 
should  be  dropped  when  recognized,  as  it  does  not  pay 
to  do  business  with  such  people  on  any  terms;  but  the 
simply  unreliable  may  be  made  to  yield  the  printer  a 
tolerable  portion  of  his  yearly  profits  by  the  simple  course 
of  never  trusting  them.  It  is  never  worth  while  to  run 
after  such  custom,  but  when  it  comes,  and  will  pay  a 
fair  price,  and  can  be  protected,  it  should  be  accepted. 
The  danger  then  lies  only  with  the  printer  himself,  who 
must  be  sure  that  he  will  not,  in  a  moment  of  weak- 
ness, trust  such  an  one  without  a  deposit,  or  allow  him 
to  take  away  any  portion  of  his  work  while  there 
remains  an  unpaid  balance.  With  this  class  of  customer 
the  printer  can  afford  to  be  very  independent. 

10.  Customers  who  never  mean  to  pay  at  all.  The 
difficulty  that  the  printer  has  with  this  class  is  in  de- 
tecting them.  They  are  of  all  sorts,  appearances  and 
characters.  The  most  dangerous  are  those  who  wear 
good  clothes,  understand  business  methods,  and  who 
come  in  as  total   strangers,  paying   spot  cash  for  a  few 


26  WHAT   CLASS   OF   CUSTOMERS   TO   SEEK. 

jobs  and  then  seek  to  take  away  a  large  job  on  the 
Strength  of  the  business  acquaintance  thus  established. 
There  is  only  one  safeguard  against  such  people,  and 
that  is  in  the  establishment  of  an  inviolable  rule  never 
to  give  credit  until  you  have  thoroughly  investigated  a 
customer. 

The  class  of  customers  to  be  specially  sought,  it  will 
be  understood  from  the  above,  are  those  who  have 
learned  that  it  pays  to  have  good  printing,  and  that 
they  must  allow  the  printer  a  reasonable  profit  to  secure 
prompt,  reliable  and  generally  superior  service.  The 
wise  printer  will  make  a  list  of  all  such  in  his  field,  and 
devote  his  energies  to  getting  a  chance  at  their  work. 
When  some  printer  has  failed  to  give  satisfaction  to  such 
a  customer,  then  is  the  chance  for  a  newcomer.  A 
reputation  for  fine  work  is  worth  a  great  deal  in  such 
a  case,  and  a  reputation  for  cheap  work  is  almost  pro- 
hibitive. This  is  why  the  printer  who  aims  to  be  at 
the  top  of  the  industry  cannot  afford  to  do  cheap  work 
even  at  a  present  profit.  Its  shortcomings  are  noticed, 
and  his  reputation  suffers,  and  his  chances  of  getting 
other  good-paying,  high-quality  work  are  lessened. 
Keep  up  a  reputation  and  good  customers  will  drift 
toward  you  ;  forget  that  you  have  a  reputation,  and 
everyone  else  will  also  forget  it. 

Always  be  prepared  for  sudden  and  large  demands 
upon  your  facilities,  remembering  that  the  emergency  pf 
a  customer  is  the  opportunity  to  demonstrate  your  effi- 
ciency. Every  good  printer  is  liable  to  have  unexpected 
calls  for  work  because  of  accidents  or  unforeseen  circum- 
stances. A  lawyer  finds  that  he  must  have  a  case 
printed  on  twenty-four  hours  notice.  If  you  are  ready, 
and   do   the  work  well   and   on   time,  you  may  have  a 


WHAT   CI-ASS   OF   CUSTOMERS   TO   SEEK.  2'J 

good  customer.  A  manufacturer  discovers  a  reason  why 
a  price  list  must  be  issued  at  once,  and  the  last  one 
having  been  delayed  by  some  other  printer,  concludes  to 
give  you  a  trial.  By  being  always  ready  and  willing  to 
work  day  or  night  to  help  a  customer  out  of  a  dilemma, 
you  gain  not  only  his  permanent  trade,  but  that  of  others, 
to  whom  he  may  mention  your  promptness. 

It  has  been  an  axiom  with  many  successful  firms 
that  it  does  not  pay  to  do  business  with  "cheap"  people, 
because  the  good  custom  lost  more  than  offsets  the  small 
profit  that  can  be  made  from  the  cheap  class.  It  is  the 
business  of  the  printer  to  seek  always  the  trade  of  the 
substantial  firms  in  his  community,  and  to  seek  them  by 
means  of  general  excellence  and  prompt  service  rather 
than  by  the  cutting  of  prices.  The  notion  that  the  most 
practical  way  to  get  work  is  to  cut  the  price  is  erroneous 
in  that  it  leads  only  to  the  getting  of  work  that  is  not 
specially  desirable.  The  way  to  get  work  worth  having 
is  to  get  up  a  reputation  for  fine  printing  with  satisfaction 
guaranteed.  That  will  surely,  even  if  slowly,  bring  custom 
from  the  sort  of  people  whose  trade  is  worth  having. 

Another  reason  why  it  is  a  mistake  to  cater  to  a 
cheap  class  of  work,  is  that  if  it  is  turned  away  it  usually 
goes  to  some  less  wise  competitor,  and  keeps  him  busy 
and  not  in  condition  to  satisfactorily  execute  the  better 
and  more  profitable  work  when  it  comes  along.  In 
other  words,  it  pays  to  let  competitors  have  the  cheap 
work,  if  they  are  foolish  enough  to  take  it.  The  printer 
who  is  building  up  a  trade  may  find  times  when  he  feels 
obliged  to  take  some  moderately  cheap  work,  through 
force  of  circumstances,  but  he  should  never  solicit  any 
but  the  higher  grades  of  work,  that  tend  to  build  up  a 
substantial  business. 


28  WHAT   CLASS    OF   CUSTOMERS    TO   SEEK. 

An  old-time  printer,  with  more  experience  than 
dollars,  once  said  to  me:  *'I  have  wasted  many  of  the 
best  years  of  my  life  working  for  *  no-account'  people. 
My  books  tell  the  story  of  my  career  for  thirty  years, 
and  I  have  been  at  some  pains  to  study  them,  running 
back  through  the  accounts  of  this  class  of  customers,  and 
I  find  that  they  have  always  been  a  drag  upon  me.  I 
made  a  little  money  out  of  half  of  them,  but  more  than 
lost  it  on  the  other  half.  It  has  been  only  the  custom 
of  the  better  class  that  has  kept  the  sheriff  out  of  my 
place.  If  I  had  known  enough  years  ago  to  refuse  all 
dealings  with  people  who  wanted  cheap  work,  1  should 
have  made  twice  as  much  money,  worn  out  only  a 
quarter  as  much  material,  had  a  great  de^l  easier  time, 
and  been  about  ten  years  younger  in  health  and  spirits 
than  I  am.  But  my  experience  has  come  a  little  too  late 
in  life  to  be  of  much  use  to  me.  I  am  now  a  sort  of 
has-been,  and  so  much  cheap  work  has  gone  out  of  my 
place  that  nobody  thinks  of  bringing  me  fine  work,  and 
I  can  only  peg  along  for  the  few  good  customers  that  I 
happen  to  have  until  my  time  comes  to  step  out.  But 
if  1  could  pass  along  my  experience  to  some  energetic 
young  fellow,  it  would  earn  him  good  money  in  the 
printing  business.  It  is  a  good  enough  business  i:i  itself, 
but  many  of  us  do  not  learn  to  run  our  olYices  to  a  profit 
until  we  get  antiquated." 

Avoid  cheap  customers  and  cheap  work,  seeking  only 
the  better  class  of  printing,  and  the  most  substantial  firms 
as  customers,  and  with  fair  management  in  other  respects 
you  can  hardly  fail  of  success;  but  if  you  neglect  this 
rule,  even  if  you  keep  all  other  good  rules,  you  will 
never  become  conspicuous  for  your  success  in  the  trade. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

HOW  TO   DEVELOP   BUSINESS. 

The  printer  who  has  made  a  good  start  in  business, 
or  who  has  purchased  an  established  plant,  requires  to 
understand  how  to  develop  his  trade,  since  to  stand  still 
in  these  times,  when  so  many  are  going  ahead,  is  to  fall 
behind  in  the  race  for  precedence.  One  essential  to 
success  in  the  printing  business  is  a  good  location.  By 
this  I  mean  more  than  a  central  position,  or  a  place  in 
the  thick  of  the  business  portion  of  a  city — 1  mean  a 
location  that  is  good  from  every  point  of  view.  For 
instance,  that  printer  in  a  large  city  who  is  located  in 
the  near  vicinity  of  half  a  dozen  printers  who  cut  prices 
is  but  poorly  situated  as  compared  with  another  who 
has  his  office  near  to  large  and  successful  printeries, 
whose  proprietors  are  recognized  as  upholders  of  prices, 
and  whose  reputation  enables  them  to  charge  and  receive 
more  for  their  work  than  others.  The  former  is  too  often 
forced  to  get  what  he  can  in  the  general  scramble  to 
find  work  for  the  presses  ;  the  latter  occasionally  secures 
some  of  the  overflow  of  work  from  his  good  neighbors, 
and  at  profitable  rates,  and  all  his  chances  for  getting 
customers  who  will  pay  good  prices  are  better  for  his 
proximity,  which  suggests  that  he  is  in  a  good  class. 
Another  point  of  view  regarding  location  is  that  it  should 
be  convenient  to  the  most  desirable  class  of  customers 
rather  than   convenient  to  everybody.     Of  course  both 


30  HOW    TO    DEVELOP   BUSINESS. 

are  desirable,  but  the  former  is  rather  to  be  chosen,  as 
in  the  line  of  developing  a  good  class  of  substantial 
customers.  Judgment  must  determ.ine  what  is  and  what 
is  not  a  good  location,  us  no  set  rules  can  be  formulated  ; 
but  the  printer  who  bears  these  points  in  mind  will  be 
better  fitted  to  form  a  correct  judgment  than  he  who 
neglects  such  considerations. 

Advertising  is  of  prime  importance  in  the  develop- 
ment of  a  printing  business.  Because  they  do  so  much 
advertising  for  others  printers  ought  to  be  well  able 
to  use  advertising  for  the  advancement  of  their  own 
business  ;  yet  the  majority  of  them  neglect  this  means 
of  development.  The  subject  of  advertising  is  so  large 
that  it  is  reserved  for  a  separate  chapter. 

Soliciting  is  the  next  most-used  method  of  developing 
business.  It  has  been  discouraged  by  many  large 
concerns  on  the  ground  that  printing  is  a  ten  per  cent, 
business,  and  that  this  margin  will  not  afford  paying 
for  a  solicitor.  I  am  inclined  to  disagree  with  the  view, 
and  to  hold  that  a  judicious  amount  of  soliciting  is 
advantageous  to  the  average  printing  office.  It  can  be 
overdone,  and  few  printeries  can  afford  to  keep  a  good 
solicitor  at  work  all  the  time.  As  a  result  good  solicitors 
of  printing  are  scarce,  and  proprietors  require  to  have 
in  their  employ  an  office  'man,  as  a  bookkeeper  or  the 
like,  who  has  the  gift  of  soliciting,  and  to  send  him  out 
occasionally  where  the  work  is  likely  to  be  found. 
Whatever  some  may  say  to  the  contrary,  depend  upon 
it  that  all  large  establishments  do  practice  more  or  less 
soliciting.  They  may  not  do  it  systematically  in  a  regular 
way,  and  may  have  no  employed  drummers,  but  when 
they  know  that  a  large  and  desirable  job  is  to  be  given 
-out,  one  of  the  proprietors  or  somebody  from  the  house 


HOW    TO    DEVELOP   BUSINESS.  3 1 

is  sent  out  to  assist  its  coming  their  way  ;  or  if  it  is  a 
question  of  estimate  a  few  strings  are  pulled  in  proper 
quarters,  and  a  good  argument  is  advanced  to  show 
why  the  work  should  come  to  a  certain  office  even  if 
the  price  should  be  deemed  a  little  high. 

It  is  the  duty  of  every  printer  to  keep  himself 
informed  of  all  the  large  work  that  is  being  given  out 
in  his  vicinity,  and  to  study  and  improve  any  chances 
he  may  have  for  influencing  it.  In  this  way  he  can 
usually  get  a  share  of  the  large  orders  that  are  in  the 
general  market.  Every  manufacturer  who  has  a  large 
amount  of  printing,  every  firm  that  advertises  largely, 
every  public  institution,  and  in  fact  every  desirable  con- 
cern that  has  a  considerable  amount  of  work  to  give 
out  within  a  printer's  field,  constitutes  a  possibility  in 
a  business  way,  and  should  be  regularly  considered  and 
periodically  interviewed,  no  matter  what  may  seem  to 
be  the  obstacles  in  the  way  of  getting  the  work.  To 
find  out  all  the  work  that  is  worth  having  and  to  **go 
for  it "  should  be  a  regular  part  of  the  work  of  every 
progressive  printer,  whether  he  does  it  by  the  ordinary 
way  of  solicitation,  or  in  some  other  manner  that 
commends  itself  to  him. 

The  getting  acquainted  with  active  business  men  is 
an  important  factor  in  developing  trade  in  printing. 
This  may  be  accomplished  by  joining  the  local  board 
of  trade,  or  by  organizing  one  if  the  place  is  without. 
A  live  board  of  trade  always  insures  contact  with  good 
men,  and  the  printer  who  meets  them,  and  by  his 
conduct  shows  that  he  is  up  to  the  times  and  a  thorough 
business  man,  is  sure  to  win  business.  In  every  place 
there  are  social  organizations  frequented  by  business 
men,  the  printer  should   learn  what   these  are  and  join 


1^ 


}2  HOW    TO   DEVELOP   BUSINESS. 

them.  Whether  it  is  a  Free  Mason's  lodge,  a  church,  a 
golf  club  or  a  political  organization,  if  there  are  plenty 
of  men  who  have  the  giving  out  of  printing  it  is  the 
wise  thing  for  the  printer  to  be  one  of  them,  and  keep 
*Mn  the  swim."  For  thus  he  has  more  chances  than 
the  printers  who  do  not  follow  these  things.  Of  course 
it  is  not  desirable  to  belong  to  so  many  societies  or 
clubs  that  the  dues  eat  up  all  the  printer's  spare  change, 
and  the  duties  of  membership  use  up  all  his  spare  time. 
This  sort  of  thing  should  be  done  moderately  but  . 
thoroughly  ;  and  if  the  printer  by  mistake  has  gone 
into  organizations  where  there  is  no  apparent  business 
advantage  he  can  quietly  drop  out  again.  In  most  cities 
I  regard  a  board  of  trade,  a  building  association,  or  a 
business  men's  club  as  the  best  field  for  exploitation  of 
this  sort.  But  here  as  in  everything  else  the  printer's 
own  judgment  must  be  the  final  court  of  decision  as 
to  what  is  best  under  the  immediate  circumstances. 

The  working  among  politicians  for  political  printing, 
or  printing  given  out  through  political  influence,  is  a 
business  in  itself,  usually  necessitating  more  or  less  use 
of  means  that  cannot  well  be  advocated  in  print.  The 
more  honorable  of  those  who  secure  political  printing 
get  it  as  a  return  for  work  done  for  a  political  party, 
but  this  book  is  hardly  the  place  for  instruction  in 
machine  politics,  and  the  printer  who  wants  to  know 
how  to  get  city  or  county  printing  had  best  go  to  a 
successful  local  politician  and  take  lessons.  Those  who 
want  to  cater  to  that  sort  of  work  are  welcome  to  do 
so  :  the  writer  never  had  any  great  desire  for  it. 

Good  printing,  accuracy  and  promptness  are  three 
means  of  developing  business  that  can  hardly  fail  of 
accomplishing  results.     It  does  not  pay  in  the  long  run 


HOW    TO   DEVELOP   BUSINESS.  }} 

to  slight  work.  If  a  mistake  has  been  made  in  estimat- 
ing, and  a  job  is  taken  too  low,  it  is  unwise  for  the 
printer  to  try  and  save  himself  by  slighting  the  job. 
By  living  up  to  his  agreement  with  the  customer,  he 
prevents  a  poor  job  from  going  out  of  his  office  and 
injuring  his  reputation.  By  pinching  the  paper,  skimping 
the  count,  rushing  the  proof  and  slighting  the  make- 
ready,  he  takes  chances  of  having  the  job  thrown  back 
on  his  hands,  or  of  being  considered  dishonest.  It  is 
..better  to  suffer  the  loss  bravely,  frankly  telling  the  cus- 
tomer that  there  has  been  a  mistake,  and  that  it  cost  so 
much  more  to  turn  out  the  job  than  the  contract  price. 
The  customer  is  then  apt  to  be  willing  to  give  the 
printer  opportunity  to  make  it  up  on  other  work,  and 
in  some  instances  he  will  go  down  in  his  pocket  and 
pay  more  than  the  contract  price.  Anyway,  he  is  retained 
as  a  customer,  whereas  the  plan  of  taking  the  prospect- 
ive loss  out  of  the  job  drives  away  the  customer.  The 
sure  road  to  success  lies  in  giving  good  printing  first, 
last,  and  all  the  time. 

Accuracy  is  essential  to  the  building  up  of  a  printing 
trade.  Careless  proof-reading,  careless  counting,  careless- 
ness in  anything  will  drive  away  good  customers  in  time. 
Only  by  unceasing  watchfulness  can  accuracy  be  assured. 
A  system  of  checks  and  revisions  should  be  placed  over 
all  work  to  insure  that  errors  do  not  creep  in.  Extra- 
ordinary precautions  are  always  necessary.  If  ordinary 
proof-reading  is  depended  upon,  sooner  or  later  a  job 
will  be  printed  with  a  cut  upside  down,  turned  by  a 
pressman  in  underlaying,  and  never  noticed  because 
there  was  no  system  calling  for  a  final  revision  of  the 
work  on  press  ;  or  it  may  be  that  a  job  will  be  printed 
on   the  wrong  stock    because  the   proof-reader  is    not 


34  HOW   TO   DEVELOP   BUSINESS. 

called  upon  to  pay  any  attention  to  such  matters.  An 
efficient  job  ticket  system,  and  rigid  rules  as  to  reading 
and  revision  are  incumbent  in  all  offices  where  there  is 
a  desire  to  maintain  a  reputation  for  accuracy. 

Never  promise  a  job  sooner  than  you  can  execute 
it,  and  never  fail  to  deliver  when  promised.  This  is  an 
easy  rule  to  make  and  a  hard  one  to  follow,  but  the 
printer  who  will  be  at  the  trouble  and  pains  to  keep 
it  is  sure  in  time  to  reap  a  rich  reward.  The  printer 
who  is  known  to  be  always  on  time  need  never  fear 
of  losing  his  work  to  the  price-cutters.  Merchants  who 
have  had  experience  with  delayed  printing  usually  know 
that  it  is  worth  ten  per  cent,  more  than  the  "  get-it- 
when-you-can  "  kind.  Promptness  is  one  of  the  most 
essential  requisites  of  development.  Though  the  printer 
may  have  every  other  key  to  success,  if  he  have  not 
promptness  he  will  never  achieve  any  prominence.  The 
printer  who  is  prompt  may  be  weak  in  many  other 
respects,  and  yet  his  ability  to  be  always  on  time  will 
bring  him  trade  and  make  him  a  valuable  reputation. 

It  has  often  been  said  that  a  satisfied  customer  is 
the  best  sort  of  an  advertisement,  and  the  proverb 
emphasizes  a  great  truth.  To  build  up  a  trade,  one 
must  give  satisfaction  to  present  customers,  and  as  they 
tell  others  trade  will  expand  and  develop,  just  as  the 
housekeeper  likes  good  measure  from  her  grocer,  so  the 
customer  likes  a  full  count,  superior  stock,  and  various 
little  accommodations,  and  the  wise  printer  will  give 
all  these  and  see  to  it  that  his  margin  of  profit  is  large 
enough  to  afford  the  minor  extras,  so  that  he  may  treat 
his  customers  liberally,  and  avoid  a  reputation  for 
meanness  in  small  things. 


HOW    TO    DEVELOP   BUSINESS.  35 

The  printer  who  is  known  as  a  good  and  careful 
workman,  who  delivers  orders  when  promised,  has 
achieved  a  reputation  that  of  itself  will  develop  his 
business.  With  correct  management  in  other  respects 
he  may  expect  to  obtain  in  time  a  large  and  valuable 
business,  which  cannot  be  taken  from  him,  and  that 
can  only  be  lost  by  continued  negligence  and  disregard 
of  the  principles  on  which  it  was  founded.  Push, 
honesty,  accuracy  and  ability,  if  persistently  employed 
will  carry  almost  any  printing  concern  to  the  top  of 
the  art 


CHAPTER  V. 

WRITING  ADVERTISING  MATTER,    ETC., 
FOR   CUSTOMERS. 

The  intelligent  job  printer  will  never  permit  himself 
to  forget  that  printing  is  allied  to  advertising,  and 
that  almost  all  of  the  printing  that  he  does  depends  in 
some  way  upon  its  success  as  an  advertisement  or 
as  an  advertising  medium.  If  it  prove  profitable  from 
the  advertising  standpoint,  there  is  more  work  for  the 
printer.  It  therefore  behooves  printers  to  become  stu- 
dents of  advertising,  that  they  may  be  able  to  advise 
and  assist  their  patrons  in  the  production  of  printing 
that  will  be  profitable. 

The  average  customer  for  printing  is  not  as  expert  a 
writer  as  the  average  printer  ;  he  has  not  the  knowledge 
of  detail  and  arrangement  of  matter  that  comes  naturally 
to  the  man  of  types  ;  he  is  rarely  an  expert  in  adver- 
tising. Often  he  is  a  man  of  good  business  ideas  who 
needs  to  be  helped  in  the  detail  of  working  out  his 
thoughts  so  that  the  printing  may  be  profitable.  A  few 
printers  are  alive  to  these  facts,  and  in  their  establish- 
ments, as  in  the  Lotus  Press,  have  inaugurated  a  regular 
system  of  assisting  customers  in  the  literary  part  of  the 
work,  taking  their  ideas  and  working  them  out  in  a 
manner  that  will  make  the  printing  doubly  attractive. 

The  printer  who  can  do  nothing  but  print  well  is  a 
good  enough  man  for  the  production  of  reprint  work, 


WRITING    ADVERTISING   MATTER    FOR   CUSTOMERS.  }'] 

but  the  printer  who  writes  and,  edits  copy  is  the  man 
to  whom  new  work  should  be  given.  The  public  is 
finding  this  out  in  the  cities  where  the  latter  class  of 
printers  are  to  be  found,  and  trade  is  drifting  their  way. 
The  printer  who  has  never  given  attention  to  this  side 
of  the  trade  is  advised  to  subscribe  for  a  number  of  the 
papers  now  published  in  the  interest  of  advertising  and 
to  read  and  study  them  thoroughly.  He  will  then  have 
a  fund  of  catchy  ideas  to  draw  upon,  and  from  which 
he  may  make  suggestions  to  patrons  wherever  he  sees 
the  chance  to  work  them  in  appropriately.  Suppose  it 
is  simply  the  proprietor  of  a  meat  and  fish  market  who 
wants  to  get  out  a  circular  to  send  to  his  customers.  He 
thinks  he  wants  a  thousand  small  dodgers,  and  writes 
out  a  list  of  beef,  pork,  veal,  mutton,  fish,  oysters  and 
clams,  etc.,  and  heads  it  "Notice."  Such  a  circular  will  be 
of  little  value  to  him,  and  the  printer-advertiser  will  say : 
''Why  don't  you  head  this  *  Don't  worry  about  Oysters  I ' 
That  sounds  catchy.  Then  go  on  to  say,  '  Dinner  begins 
with  dainty  oysters,'  and  explain  how  very  particular  you 
are  about  delivering  half-shells  promptly  and  attractively 
at  the  minute  they  are  wanted  ;  call  attention  to  the 
quality  of  your  meats  and  the  excellence  of  your  service. 
Then,  if  1  were  you,  instead  of  getting  up  a  plain, 
cheap  circular,  that  most  people  will  throw  away  before 
reading,  get  up  something  more  attractive.  Ten  of 
these  will  be  read  to  one  of  the  other,  and  it  will  be 
much  more  apt  to  bring  you  trade."  By  talking  this 
way  the  printer  often  gets  a  five  dollar  job  instead  of 
a  two  dollar  one,  and  it  is  dollars  to  doughnuts  that 
the  meat  man  is  back  again  inside  of  three  months  for 
another  of  those  business-bringing  circulars.  After  that 
the  printer's  competitors  cannot  touch  him,  for  he  has 


38  WRITING   ADVERTISING    MATTER    FOR   CUSTOMERS. 

• 

learned  that  he  can  buy  of  one  what  he  cannot  buy 
from  others. 

Suppose  that  a  manufacturer  who  wants  to  issue  a 
booklet  comes  in  to  consult  the  printer.  It  soon  appears 
that  he  is  not  ready  with  his  pen  and  that  he  has  to 
be  instructed  at  every  turn.  The  printer  volunteers  a 
few  suggestions.  The  manufacturer  is  pleased,  cheer- 
fully pays  for  compiling  and  arranging,  and  thus  the 
order  is  clinched  and  a  customer  made  who  will  remain 
with  the  printer  who  furnishes  literary  assistance  with 
his  printing.  But  for  this  ability  to  help  with  the  copy 
the  manufacturer  would  probably  have  figured  with 
half  a  dozen  printers,  and  given  it  to  some  one  at  a 
very  close  price,  which  would  have  yielded  a  profit  to 
nobody. 

Some  newspapers  become  very  valuable  properties 
because  they  make  money  for  their  advertising  patrons 
who  cannot  be  weaned  away  from  them.  It  is  equally 
possible  for  some  printeries  to  build  up  their  trade  by 
making  it  a  point  to  see  that  the  printing  pays  the 
customer.  In  all  large  cities  there  are  now  advertising 
experts  who  furnish  booklets  and  that  class  of  matter 
to  merchants,  just  as  they  write  advertisements.  The 
advertising  expert  can  often  control  the  printing  of  the 
work  he  writes  and  designs.  He  is  only  human  if  he 
demands  a  percentage  from  the  printer  to  whom  he 
turns  over  his  work.  That  printer  who  is  looking  for 
general  commercial  work  is  not  up  to  the  times  if  he 
does  not  take  a  hint  from  this  and  equip  himself  to 
render  this  service  to  his  customers. 

The  writing  of  advertising  matter,  or  of  any  sort  of 
matter,  for  customers,  is  a  thing  not  generally  practiced 
by   printers,   yet   there    can    be   no   question    about    its 


WRITII^G    ADVERTISING   MATTER   FOR   CUSTOMERS.  39 

advantage  to  the  printer.  Those  few  who  have  adopted 
it  have  proved  that  it  is  a  winner.  Doubtless  the 
principal  reason  why  it  has  not  been  generally  adopted 
by  printers  is  that  most  of  them  have  felt  a  lack  of 
ability  to  write  and  edit  for  their  customers.  Such  a 
feeling  should  not  restrain  any  printer  from  making  the 
attempt.  You  can  learn  to  do  this  as  well  as  you  have 
learned  to  do  other  new  things  to  advance  your  business. 
If  fully  satisfied  that  you  cannot  develop  any  capacity 
of  this  sort,  you  have  still  the  privilege  of  hiring  a  man 
who  can  write  taking  matter  for  your  customers. 

Times  have  changed  in  this  matter  of  preparing 
copy.  Twenty-eight  years  ago  a  leading  printer  of  New 
York,  writing  of  the  receiving  of  copy,  said  :  "  Persuade 
your  customer  to  furnish  his  own  copy,  written  in  ink. 
Avoid  writing  it  for  him.  If  it  must  be  done  by  you, 
notify  him  distinctly  that  he  is  responsible  for  its  sup- 
posed accuracy  as  to  names,  dates,  places  and  figures." 
The  object  of  this  injunction  was  to  guard  against  work 
being  thrown  back  on  the  printer's  hands  because  of 
errors  in  the  copy  that  the  customer  might  charge  to 
him.  While  carefulness  is  just  as  essential  now  as  it 
was  then,  it  has  been  learned  that  there  are  advantages 
in  helping  the  customer  with  the  copy  that  more  than 
offset  the  dangers.  At  the  same  time,  the  printer  who 
prepares  or  edits  copy  for  a  customer  must  make  the 
customer  responsible  for  the  job  as  finally  written,  and 
it  is  always  proper  for  him  to  request  the  customers 
**0.  K."  on  copy  before  going  ahead.  If  he  does  not 
safeguard  himself  by  making  it  very  plain  to  the 
customer  that  he  cannot  be  held  for  any  errors  in  copy, 
after  the  copy  is  approved  by  the  customer,  he  is  liable 
to   trouble    and    occasional    loss.      If   the    customer    is 


40  WRITING   ADVERTISING   MATTER   FOR   CUSTOMERS. 

forewarned  of  this  he  usually  scans  the  copy  more  closely, 
and  the  chances  of  error,  through  the  unfamiliarity  of 
the  printer-writer  with  the  customer's  business,  are 
reduced. 

Within  a  few  years  some  large  newspapers  have 
employed  advertisement  editors,  whose  sole  business  is  to 
see  that  advertisements  are  well  written.  If  it  is  observed 
that  any  particular  advertisers  do  not  use  their  space  to 
good  advantage,  it  is  the  business  of  the  advertisement 
editor  to  call  on  them  and  make  suggestions.  The  reason 
for  the  existence  of  such  a  functionary  is  obvious,  for,  if 
advertisements  do  not  pay,  they  are  sooner  or  later  dis- 
continued, and  it  is  a  part  of  the  newspaper  publisher's 
business  to  see  that  his  patrons  make  money,  if  he 
would  get  a  share  of  it.  Just  so  with  the  job  printer. 
If  he  will  see  to  it  that  such  of  his  customers  as  have 
no  natural  talent  for  preparing  their  own  copy,  are 
assisted,  so  that  their  printing  will  bring  them  business, 
he  will  retain  their  trade  and  increase  it.  He  will  also 
gain  trade  from  those  customers  who  may  know  how  to 
prepare  copy,  but  who  are  too  busy,  and  who  want  to 
have  some  one  else  write  as  well  as  print,  some  one  who 
can  be  relied  upon  to  take  ideas  in  the  rough,  and 
carry  them  out  to  the  completion  of  a  good  tasteful, 
trade-stirring  piece  of  printing.  Such  are  willing  to  pay 
for  work  on  the  copy  as  well  as  for  work  on  the 
printing.  When  you  show  a  customer  how  to  make  his 
printing  profitable,  he  likes  to  spend  money  with  you, 
and  he  will  keep  on  doing  it  as  long  as  your  work  brings 
him  results.  Do  not  make  the  mistake  of  throwing  in 
without  charge,  your  work  as  a  writer  for  customers. 
Small  assistance  ought  not  to  be  charged  for  specifically, 
but,  when  a  considerable   amount   of  literary   work   or 


WRITING   ADVERTISING   MATTER    FOR   CUSTOMERS.  4 1 

designing  is  involved,  it  is  best  to  make  a  specific 
charge  for  the  same,  else  the  lumping  of  it  with  the 
price  for  printing  may  cause  unfavorable  comparisons 
with  the  prices  of  others  that  do  not  include  any  writing, 
editing,  compiling  or  arranging. 

The  ability  to  draw  or  sketch  is  also  worth  a  great 
deal  to  the  printer  who  prepares  copy  or  arranges  it 
for  a  customer.  By  designing  and  drafting  out  in  pencil 
the  headings  and  titles,  and  any  ornate  work  connected 
with  the  job,  so  as  to  give  the  customer  a  fair  idea  in 
advance  of  what  it  is  proposed  to  furnish  him,  you  are 
more  certain  of  giving  satisfaction  and  supplying  his 
wants.  It  is  always  best  to  supply  a  design  or  dummy 
with  the  copy  furnished  a  customer.  Then  he  is  able 
to  grasp  the  whole  thing  and  to  judge  whether  it  will 
attain  his  object.  If  a  pleasing  effect  is  produced  at  the 
first  attempt,  it  is  apt  to  be  all  plain  sailing  afterwards 
with  that  customer.  He  appreciates  you  as  a  man  who 
can  get  up  what  he  wants  with  only  a  few  hints,  and 
values  you  accordingly. 

The  writing  and  editing  of  advertising  matter  for 
customers  is  in  line  with  the  idea  that  it  is  the  printer's 
duty  to  fill  all  demands  and  give  customers  anything 
of  which  he  sees  that  they  stand  in  need,  and  to  exact 
a  fair  profit  for  such  assistance. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

TAKING   ORDERS. 

To  insure  satisfaction  to  every  customer,  it  is  essential 
that  orders  should  be  correctly  taken,  so  that  the  work 
may  be  started  rightly.  It  is  impossible  to  be  sure  what 
a  man  wants  unless  you  talk  over  the  ground  with  him, 
and  even  when  orders  are  written  out  quite  fully,  it  is 
best  that  a  little  talk  go  with  them  to  .cover  points  that 
may  not  be  fully  understood.  When  a  customer  comes 
in  and  lays  down  a  sheet  of  copy,  saying  that  he  wants 
so  many  thousand  printed  at  such  a  time,  it  is  a  very 
inefficient  office  man  who  lets  it  go  at  that,  and  dis- 
misses the  customer  with  the  remark  that  he  will  try 
and  have  it  done.  He  should  first  examine  the  copy, 
reading  a  part  or  all  of  it,  if  in  manuscript,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  customer,  so  as  to  ascertain  whether  it  is 
all  clear  and  plain.  If  there  is  anything  that  he  does 
not  understand  it  can  be  more  easily  explained  then 
than  at  any  time  later.  If  the  copy  is  reprint,  he  should 
ask  if  the  arrangement  of  the  type  is  satisfactory,  and 
whether  an  exact  duplicate  is  required,  or  whether  an 
effort  may  be  made  to  improve  the  appearance  of  the 
job.  If  the  printed  job  is  a  good  one,  it  is  best  to  lead 
the  customer  to  duplicate  it,  because  that  involves  the 
least  bother  and  expense  to  the  printer,  but  my  experi- 
ence is,  that  it  is  a  mistaken  policy  to  seek  the  dupli- 
cation of  jobs  that  are  below  the  standard  in  style  and 


TAKING   ORDERS.  4} 

arrangement,  and  that  it  is  better  to  take  the  trouble  of 
laying  out  a  new  display  for  a  customer  than  to  send 
out  a  job  from  your  office  that  is  below  par. 

In  some  classes  of  printing,  working  from  manuscript 
copy,  it  is  essential  to  have  an  understanding  as  to 
spelling  and  punctuation,  as  customers  are  occasionally 
notional  on  these  points,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the  printer, 
as  far  as  possible,  to  give  them  what  they  want.  It  has 
been  one  of  the  writer's  business  rules  to  find  out  just 
what  customers  want,  and  let  them  have  it  exactly  as 
they  want  it,  provided  the  accommodation  will  not 
produce  work  reflecting  on  the  quality  of  the  printing 
turned  out  by  the  establishment.  The  customer  who 
does  not  know  what  he  wants  requires  to  be  guided, 
and  the  printer  who  is  apt  at  making  suggestions  for 
such  will  increase  his  orders. 

I  have  known  of  a  large  office  printing  labels  for  a 
new  horse  liniment,  and  spelling  the  title  **Orrion," 
because  it  was  a  sort  of  trade-mark  name,  so  given  on 
the  copy,  the  customer  being  an  uneducated  man.  If 
a  thoroughly  intelligent  man  had  taken  the  order,  he 
would  have  told  the  customer  that  the  correct  spelling 
was  * 'Orion,  "and  had  the  copy  altered  so  that  the  cus- 
tomer's ignorance  might  not  be  exposed  to  the  world 
to  the  damage  of  his  business,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
damage  to  the  printer's  reputation,  if  it  were  known 
that  he  allowed  such  an  error  to  go  through.  I  have 
known  another  first-class  house  to  take  a  reprint  order 
for  a  billhead  originally  set  by  some  amateur,  in  exe- 
crable style,  and  to  give  the  usual  instructions  with 
reprint  work,  to  follow  copy  as  nearly  as  possible  in 
type  and  arrangement.  The  man  who  took  the  order 
did  not  know  his  business,  for  if  the  customer  did  not 


44  TAKING   ORDERS. 

know  that  he  received  a  poor  job  in  consequence,  others 
might  observe  it. 

It  is  impossible  to  make  too  sure  of  a  correct  under- 
standing of  the  copy.  If  it  is  too  long  to  be  read  while 
the  customer  is  present,  it  is  desirable  to  skim  through 
it  and  get  his  idea  in  having  the  thing  printed,  to  under- 
stand just  what  he  is  trying  to  do,  to  put  yourself  in 
his  place  as  far  as  possible,  so  that  you  may  get  the 
spirit  of  the  thing  —  and  then  you  are  in  a  position  to 
carry  it  out  intelligently.  It  is  unwise  to  give  estimates 
without  seeing  the  copy.  A  firm  that  estimated  on  a 
book  of  120,000  words,  of  which  the  copy  was  to  be 
typewritten,  once  felt  safe  in  naming  a  price  without 
seeing  the  copy.  They  got  the  job,  and  after  setting  up 
about  a  dozen  pages  the  foreman  sent  down  a  request 
for  200  pounds  of  extra  quads.  The  book  was  so 
abnormally  full  of  breaklines  that  it  strung  out  fully 
fifteen  per  cent,  longer  than  calculated,  and  there  was 
an  actual  loss  of  perhaps  $50  on  producing  the  job 
according  to  contract.  For  further  points  along  this 
line,  see  the  chapter  on  "Estimating." 

In  taking  an  order  every  detail  must  be  considered, 
that  there  may  be  no  doubts  during  the  progress  of  the 
work  as  to  what  is  wanted.  One  cannot  be  too  careful. 
I  have  known  a  customer  to  state  that  he  wished  a  job 
set  up  in  **that  type,"  pointing  to  something  on  the 
wall.  His  finger  was  crooked,  and  the  printer  thought 
he  meant  the  type  of  the  adjoining  job.  No  proof  was 
shown  and  the  result  was  a  job  brought  back,  a  mad 
customer,  and  a  mad  printer.  The  whole  difficulty 
would  have  been  saved  had  the  printer  been  careful 
enough  to  step  forward  and  have  the  customer  place  a 
pencil  or  pointer  exactly  on  the  type  desired.     For  the 


TAKING   ORDERS.  4^ 

credit  of  the  printer,  I  must  say  that  he  learned  a  lesson 
and  never  made  that  mistake  again.  Two-thirds  of  the 
disputes  over  bills  arise  from  little  misunderstandings 
like  the  above  in  taking  the  order.  The  printer  who 
takes  an  order  should  see  that  everything  is  so  plain 
that  there  can  be  no  room  for  misunderstandings.  He 
should  consider  himself  responsible  for  the  copy,  just  as 
the  proof-reader  and  reviser  are  responsible  later.  Some 
printers  think  that  they  are  smart  when  they  have  proved 
to  a  customer  that  the  error  in  a  job  was  the  custom- 
er's own  fault,  and  that  he  must  pay  for  reprinting  ; 
but,  that  printer  is  much  smarter  whose  carefulness 
prevents  error  on  the  part  of  the  customer  as  well  as 
on  his  own  part.  The  latter  will  gain  trade  where  the 
former  loses  it. 

If  a  customer  wants  expensive  work,  it  is  not  the 
printer's  place  to  tell  him  that  it  is  expensive,  but  s^m^Ty 
to  give  the  price.  Let  the  customer  be  his  own  judge 
of  what  he  can  afford  to  spend.  If  he  wants  work  at 
a  less  price  he  is  usually  only  too  ready  to  say  so. 

It  is  desirable  to  obtain  all  the  copy  for  a  job  before 
beginning  work.  This  is  often  essential  to  the  proper  lay- 
ing out  of  the  job.  If  it  is  impracticable  to  secure  all  the 
copy  at  starting,  the  customer  should  be  notified  that  he 
is  liable  for  extra  charge  if  the  copy  prove  more  intricate 
or  difficult  to  decipher  than  that  in  hand.  Where  copy 
is  blind,  it  is  best  to  ask  the  customer  to  have  it  type- 
written, calling  his  attention  to  the  fact  that  this  is  likely 
to  cost  less  than  will  be  involved  in  making  the  necessary 
corrections  later  in  type.  Copy  that  is  written  on  both 
sides,  or  carelessly  arranged,  or  that  requires  considerable 
editorial  work  on  the  part  of  the  printer  before  it  is  put 
into  type,  should  be  handled  only  on  a  time  charge  basis. 


46  TAKING   ORDERS. 

When,  because  of  bad  copy,  or  of  incomplete  direc- 
tions at  the  start,  or  of  changes  of  directions  while  the 
job  is  in  hand,  it  is  evident  that  the  time  charges  on  a 
job  will  be  large,  it  is  desirable  that  the  customer  should 
be  so  informed  as  soon  as  possible,  that  he  may  be 
prepared  for  meeting  a  heavy  bill.  If  this  is  not  done, 
he  is  very  apt  to  think  at  the  final  settlement  that  he 
has  been  overcharged.  Alterations  often  cost  a  great 
deal  and  make  no  showing.  Where  customers  receive 
several  proofs,  and  keep  on  making  alterations,  it  is  well 
to  mark  on  each  proof  the  time  spent  in  correcting  the 
previous  proof,  that  the  customer  may  realize  what  a  bill 
he  is  making  for  himself. 

In  an  office  where  a  good  job  ticket  is  used,  the  man 
who  takes  orders  should  fill  out  the  ticket  while  the 
customer  is  there,  so  that  all  items  as  to  paper,  color  of 
ink,  size  of  sheet,  time  of  delivery,  etc.,  may  be  correctly 
entered  and  receive  the  approval  of  the  customer  at  the 
time.  If  the  job  ticket  does  not  cover  the  whole  ground, 
the  man  who  takes  orders  may  keep  at  his  elbow  a 
reminder  blank  containing  every  point  or  question  to 
be  discussed  with  a  customer,  and  reference  to  this  will 
insure  his  forgetting  nothing.  Such  a  blank  might  be 
made  up  like  this: 

Points  to  be  Remembered  in  Taking  Orders. 

No.  of  copies.  Look  over  copy. 

Paper  stock.  Examine  proper  names. 

Cover  stock.  Suggest  improvements. 

Size.  Proof. 

Ink.  Alterations  to  be  charged. 

Binding.  Punctuation,  spelling,  etc. 

Type.  Illustrations  or  plates. 

Style.  Detention  of  pre^s. 

Electrotyping.  Embossing. 

Padding,  j  Standing  matter. 


TAKING   ORDERS.  47 

It  should  always  be  made  clear  to  a  customer  just 
what  a  price  quoted  includes,  and  for  what  he  may 
expect  extra  charges.  If  he  distinctly  understands  at  the 
outset  that  alterations  from  copy  will  make  an  added  time 
charge,  and  detention  of  press  another  special  charge, 
and  standing  matter  another  charge,  he  can  have  no 
ground  for  objection  to  these  items  in  the  bill.  If  this  is 
not  made  clear  to  him  at  the  outset  some  sort  of  kick  is 
almost  sure  to  follow,  with  friction  and  perhaps"  loss  to 
the  printer. 

It  is  always  well  to  submit  proofs  of  everything  to 
customers.  Probably  one  job  in  three  of  which  a  proof 
is  not  shown  is  in  some  way  unsatisfactory.  It  is  also 
wise  to  send  well-printed  proofs.  This  takes  time  and 
that  costs  money,  and  the  customer  does  not  want  to 
pay  for  it  directly.  These  facts  prevent  many  printers 
from  taking  pains  to  send  out  good  proofs.  Neverthe- 
less, it  is  the  best  thing  to  do,  and  pays  in  the  long  run. 
The  first  proof  seen  of  a  job  gives  the  customer  his  first 
conception  regarding  it,  and  that  conception  remains 
with  him  as  an  impression.  If  the  proof  is  on  news- 
paper, with  irrregular  margins,  it  looks  coarse  and  crude 
and  he  does  not  know  why.  The  result  is  that  he  is 
not  pleased,  and  sometimes  continues  to  regard  the  job 
with  disfavor.  It  is  the  practice  of  the  Lotus  Press  to 
print  all  proofs  carefully  on  a  proof  press,  using  coated 
paper  and  very  wide  margins.  A  line  is  then  ruled 
around  the  job,  showing  the  size  of  sheet  on  which  it 
is  to  be  printed.  This  sets  off  the  work,  and  gives  the 
customer  a  satisfactory  idea  of  the  final  result.  He  is 
apt  to  be  pleased  and  to  stay  pleased.  A  customer 
who  is  favorably  impressed  with  the  appearance  of  a 
first  proof  is  less  likely  to  criticise  the  job  on  delivery. 


48     •  TAKING   ORDERS. 

If  the  first  proot  does  not  impress  him  favorably,  he 
sometimes  feels  irritable  toward  the  job,  and  finds  ::11 
manner  of  fault  with  it  after  completion  just  because 
he  never  did  like  it. 

The  man  who  is  clever  at  taking  orders  will  always 
have  plenty  of  suggestions  ready  for  improving  a  job, 
and  adding  to  its  business-bringing  qualities.  This  is 
more  fully  dealt  with  in  the  chapter  on  "How  to  Talk 
to  Customers."  The  matter  of  assisting  customers  in 
the  preparation  of  copy,  and  of  writing  and  editing 
copy  for  them,  is  treated  under  the  caption  "Writing 
Advertising  Matter,  Etc.,  for  Customers."  In  the  present 
chapter  I  wish  to  impress  upon  the  printer  the  advisa- 
bility of  taking  orders  with  accuracy  and  intelligent 
appreciation  of  the  customer's  wants,  so  that  the  chances 
of  dissatisfaction  or  loss  by  spoiling  the  job  through 
misunderstandings  may  be  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

Taking  an  order  usually  involves  naming  a  time  for 
the  completion  and  delivery  of  a  job.  The  careful  order- 
taker  should  see  to  it  that  he  does  not  make  more 
promises  than  he  can  fulfil.  To  this  end  he  must  keep 
at  hand  some  schedule  of  the  work  ordered,  unfinished 
and  to  be  delivered,  so  that  he  can  tell  at  a  glance 
whether  it  is  safe  to  promise  delivery  at  a  certain  day 
or  hour.  Few  things  damage  a  printer's  trade  more 
than  the  haphazard  method  of  promising  delivery  at 
any  time  the  customer  desires,  regardless  of  facilities  for 
completing  the  work  on  time.  A  customer  soon  learns 
that  it  is  better  to  place  orders  with  a  printer  whom  he 
can  trust  to  keep  his  word,  even  if  the  delivery  time 
is  two  or  three  days  later  than  he  desires,  rather  than 
to  give  his  trade  to  a  printer  who  promises  him  what- 
ever he  demands,  and  whose  word  he  cannot  trust. 


TAKING   ORDERS.  49 

Another  thing  for  the  printer  to  remember  in  taking 
orders  is  that  it  is  bad  policy  to  run  down  competitors 
in  talking  with  customers.  Such  talk  is  in  a  sort  adver- 
tising of  the  ''other  fellows,"  and  although  the  remarks 
made  are  not  to  their  credit,  the  point  of  view  of  the 
speaker  is  considered,  and  ofttimes  the  direct  result  of 
talking  adversely  about  a  competitor  is  the  sending  of 
the  customer  to  his  place  to  let  him  figure  on  the 
work.  If  you  cannot  say  anything  kind  about  your 
brother  printers,  say  nothing  about  them.  If  they  do 
bad  work,  fail  in  their  engagements,  or  cut  prices  too 
closely,  they  will  have  to  bear  the  consequences  regard- 
less of  what  you  say  about  them.  If  they  are  good 
printers  and  good  business  men  it  is  better  to  work 
with  them  to  your  mutual  advantage  in  building  up 
the  printing  trade  than  to  cross  swords  with  them  in 
tearing  down  trade.  Let  your  customers  find  out  about 
them  without  any  aid  from  your  tongue. 

The  duty  of  the  printer  in  taking  orders  may  be 
summed  up  thus  :  To  find  out  just  what  he  is  expected 
to  produce,  to  see  that  the  price  admits  of  a  fair  profit, 
not  to  promise  more  than  he  can  carry  out,  and  to  start 
the  work  correctly. 


CHAPTER  Vll. 

ADVERTISING. 

Advertising  is  a  stepping-stone  to  success.  I  don't 
mean  to  imply  that  it  will  naturally  follow  that  because 
a  man  spends  considerable  money  for  advertising  he  is 
bound  to  succeed.  I  know  that  a  very  large  amount 
of  the  money  spent  for  advertising  is  wasted,  and  in  not 
a  few  cases  has  been  the  direct  cause  of  failure. 

Jf  the  advertising  brings  in  more  money  than  its  cost 
it  is  good  advertising.  Or  if  the  traceable  returns  pay 
only  its  actual  cost,  it  is  even  then  good  advertising. 
A  pleased  customer  is  not  only  a  permanent  customer 
but  is  also  the  best  kind  of  an  advertisement,  thus  the 
good  results  are  cumulative.  Consequently,  the  con- 
tinued orders  and  successive  profits  are  an  added  gain 
to  the  immediate  returns  and  make  good  advertising 
very  productive.  The  advertising  can  only  be  expected 
to  bring  together  the  advertiser  and  the  customer,  the 
service  the  customer  gets  must  be  the  thing  that  makes 
him  a  permanent  customer.  If  the  service  fails  to  do 
this,  or  if  the  customer  is  disappointed  or  dissatisfied 
and  there  is  nothing  to  induce  him  to  continue  his 
patronage  the  advertising  will  never  be  profitable.  Ad- 
vertising a  store,  for  instance,  will  not  result  in  profit 
unless  there  is  some  reason  why  people  should  purchase 
after  they  are  induced  to  come  into  the  store.  Like- 
wise, advertising    a    printing   office   will    not   result    in 


ADVERTISING  5 1 

profit  unless  the  printer  can  offer  to  prospective  cus- 
tomers some  advantage  over  his  competitor,  and  thus 
secure  the  orders.  To  know  what  inducements  to  ad- 
vertise involves  a  study  of  what  the  customers  expect 
from  their  printer,  and  then  arranging  one's  business  to 
meet  these  requirements.  To  do  this  uniformly  requires 
careful  and  close  attention  to  business.  In  this  way 
advertising  is  a  stepping-stone  to  success.  It  induces  the 
advertiser  to  give  more  thought  to  all  the  details  of  his 
business,  and  the  successful  advertiser  is  the  one  who 
gives  more  intelligent  attention  to  his  business  than  his 
competitors.  This  careful  and  close  attention  to  business 
coupled  with  the  cumulative  results  of  good  advertising 
will  win  success.  Some  lines  of  business  make  all 
their  profit  on  the  one  sale;  this,  however,  is  not  the 
case  in  the  printing  business.  They  have  an  almost 
unlimited  field  to  draw  trade  from,  while  the  printers' 
territory  is  restricted — usually  to  his  own  immediate 
vicinity — therefore,  the  printer  must  aim  to  make  a  per- 
manent customer  of  all  the  trade  he  gets. 

If  you  cannot  offer  some  inducement  do  not  advertise. 

If  there  are  good  reasons  why  people  should  give 
you  the  preference  with  their  orders,  advertise  it.  It  is 
a  grave  mistake  to  suppose  that  a  cheap  price  is  the 
greatest  inducement  a  printer  can  offer.  I  believe  the 
crude  expression  "cheap  and  nasty"  originated  in  refer- 
ence to  printing.  As  the  two  terms  are  almost  insepa- 
rable, it  would  be  an  insult  to  the  intelligence  of  the 
business  community  to  claim  that  price  is  the  only 
consideration  to  the  merchant  when  placing  an  order 
for  printing,  and  my  experience  in  the  business  has 
taught  me  that  there  are  other  inducements  which 
vastly  outweigh  this  one.      A  careful  study  of  the  field 


52  ADVERTISING 

will  convince  any  one  that  the  largest  and  most  pros- 
perous printers  everywhere  are  those  who  get  a  good 
price  for  their  work.  They  are  not  the  cheap  printers. 
Cheap  printing  is  usually  poor  printing  and  must  be 
cheap  because  it  cannot  command  a  higher  price;  it  is 
not  worth  any  more  than  its  cost  and  frequently  is  not 
worth  even  that.  Cheap  printing  is  never  profitable 
printing,  and  those  who  make  a  specialty  of  cheap  print- 
ing, and  depend  purely  on  a  price  inducement,  never 
become  successful  printers. 

Printers  as  a  class  are  not  good  advertisers.  They 
seem  to  believe  that  advertising  is  a  good  thing  for 
other  people,  but  not  for  themselves.  The  printing 
business  is  one  that  will  respond  to  advertising,  because 
the  pleased  customer  continues  to  deal  with  the  printer. 
Once  you  gain  a  new  customer,  you  are  apt  to  hold 
his  trade  as  long  as  you  continue  to  satisfy  him,  and 
it  is  not  a  matter  of  getting  only  the  profit  from  a 
single  order.  For  this  reason  it  pays  to  advertise  print- 
ing, even  though  the  expense  seems  to  be  considerable. 
Through  advertising  it  is  just  as  possible  to  make  a 
customer  of  the  man  whose  work  amounts  to  several 
thousand  dollars  a  year  as  it  is  to  reach  one  who  does 
not  use  so  much,  and  it  is  because  of  this  fact  that  it 
pays  to  advertise  liberally. 

As  to  the  best  methods  of  advertising  printing  there 
is  no  one  particular  way.  There  is  no  one  method  of 
advertising  anything  successfully.  ''All  roads  lead  to 
Rome."  In  order  to  get  the  best  results  advertising 
methods  and  mediums  must  be  varied.  No  two  people 
are  alike.  What  appeals  to  one  falls  flat  with  another. 
A  handsome  booklet  may  secure  the  attention  of  one 
person,  while  a  comic  skit  or  a  useful  blotter  will  please 


ADVERTISING  ^3 

nnother.  In  order  to  reach  all  it  is  absolutely  necessary 
to  resort  to  various  plans  and  styles.  Let  your  adver- 
tising be  frequent  and  varied.  Circulars,  booklets,  blot- 
ters, calendars,  novelties,  are  all  good.  A  splendid  plan 
is  to  prepare  several  at  once  and  have  a  definite  time 
for  their  distribution.  Prepare  them  when  you  have  an 
idle  press  or  when  your  compositors  are  not  busy  ;  in 
this  way  the  work  will  not  conflict  with  the  work  of 
your  customers,  and  will  likewise  be  quite  inexpensive. 
Let  your  advertising  campaign  be  conducted  system- 
atically. Don't  neglect  it  because  you  happen  to  be 
busy,  and  don't  leave  the  sending  out  of  the  advertise- 
ments for  a  dull  time.  Let  it  be  part  of  some  one's 
duty  to  attend  to  this  and  see  to  it  that  it  is  done 
systematically,  carefully  and  regularly.  The  preparation 
of  the  advertisements  may  be  done  in  dull  times  if 
several  are  prepared  at  once,  so  as  to  reduce  the  cost 
of  production,  but  do  not  let  anything  stand  in  the  way 
of  their  circulation. 

In  large  cities  the  least  productive  advertising  for  a 
printer  is  advertising  in  newspapers.  A  printer's  cus- 
tomers are  mostly  local,  and  the  circulation  of  a  news- 
paper spreads  over  a  vast  territory  that  the  printer 
cannot  hope  to  do  business  in,  although  he  must  pay 
the  full  advertising  rates.  It  would  consequently  be  a 
mistake  to  do  much  advertising  of  this  kind,  because 
of   the  unavoidable  waste. 

Straight  personal  appeals,  under  full  letter  postage,  is 
The  best  way  to  send  out  printers'  advertising  matter. 
Compile  a  list  of  names  of  people  whom  you  know  to 
be  users  of  printing  and  with  whom  you  would  like 
to  do  business.  Tell  them  about  your  advantages  and 
tell   them    why   it   would   be   to   their  interest  to  send 


54  ADVERTISING 

their  orders  to  you.  Tell  them  as  you  would  tell  them 
if  they  were  sitting  beside  your  desk  and  you  were 
talking  to  them.  To  make  up  a  proper  list  of  names 
may  require  considerable  time  and  some  expense,  but 
it  IS  worth  all  it  costs;  keep  hammering  away  at  the 
same  names,  adding  new  names  whenever  there  is  a 
chance. 

Occasionally  send  some  kind  of  an  announcement 
or  reminder  to  your  regular  customers.  Don't  neglect 
them.  Let  them  know  that  you  are  alive,  or  some 
other  printer's  advertising  may  win  them  over  from 
you  ;  customers  like  to  know  that  their  printer  has  enter- 
prise, and  when  the  opportunity  presents  itself  they  will 
be  very  apt  to  recommend  you  to  some  acquaintance. 

Put  your  imprint  on  your  work  whenever  it  is 
possible.  This  may  be  quite  small  and  unobtrusive,  bui; 
if  your  work  is  worthy  of  an  imprint  insist  on  having 
it  appear. 

Make  your  own  announcements  tasteful. 

Inclose  self-addressed  envelopes  in  your  correspond- 
ence. 

If  you  do  a  particularly  nice  piece  of  printing  send 
samples  of  it  to  people  who  are  likely  to  be  interested. 

Classify  your  samples  in  separate  sample  books  and 
Keep  duplicate  samples  to  send  by  mail  when  necessary. 

Pad  your  waste  paper  and  distribute  to  your  custom- 
ers with  your  ad.  on  the  back  of  each  pad. 

Put  a  neatly  printed  blotter  in  every  package  of  office 
stationery. 

Remind  your  customers  when  it  is  time  to  get  out  u 
holiday  announcement  or  seasonable  circular. 

Distribute  "Early  Closing  Cards"  in  summer,  and 
**  Please  Close  the  Door  "  cards  in  winter. 


ADVERTISING  "55 

Have  a  neat  and  comfortable  business  ofifice  in  which 
to  receive  your  customers.  Don't  expect  them  to  stand 
up  m  front  of  a  home-made  counter  or  transact  their 
business  through  a  hole  in  a  partition. 

These  are  just  a  few  suggestions. 

Following  will  be  found  a  variety  of  advertisements 
with  suggestions  for  their  get  up.  These  advertisements 
are  selected  from  a  large  collection  that  I  have  used,  and 
are  given  here  because  they  have  proven  successful. 
Some  of  them  may  [need  to  be  changed  to  meet  certain 
local  requirements  or  for  other  personal  reasons  : 

Chrysanthemums.  Are  Now  in  Season , 

When  trying  to  get  up  a  nice,  attractive  announcement 
card  or  circular,  has  it  ever  occurred  to  you  to  have  it 
printed  in  the  colors  of  the  particular  flower  in  season? 
We  make  a  careful  study  of  color  and  design,  and  when 
a  £ustomer  wants  a  handsome  piece  of  printing,  we  have 
no  difficulty  in  pleasing  him.  in  this  special  line  we  have 
few  competitors — it  is  a  labor  of  love  with  us — a  sort  of 
hobby.  It  does  not  cost  any  more  to  do  a  thing  correctly 
than  to  do  it  badly  ;  it  is  simply  the  knowing  how  ;  and 
this  "knowing  how"  is  as  much  a  matter  of  education 
as  of  instinct ;  we  have  been  educated  to  it ;  besides  having 
a  natural  talent  for  it. 

If  you  are  a  lover  of  things  beautiful,  let  us  apply  the 
pnnciples  of  beauty  to  your  printing. 

[The  above  was  a  circular,  6x9,  printed  on  a  delicate  primrose  coated 
paper  ;  the  caption  had  a  two-color  initial  with  chrysanthemum  design, 
printed  in  Milori  green  and  gold,  the  letter-press  was  printed  in  a  green 
tint] 

The  Parrot  Ate  the  Proofs. 

A  customer  reports  that  his  parrot  ate  our  proofs.    That's 

a  bird. 

He  must  have  heard  the  flattering  comments  on  thf  iob 

and  thought  it  was  something  to  eat. 

Our  customers  are  unceasing  in  their  praises  of  our  printing. 

Have  we  ever  had  an  order  from  you  ? 

[Enameled  card,  5x7;  cut  of  parrot  at  side,  printed  in  red,  blue  and 
gold  ;  circi!tar  matter  in  same  colors  ] 


^6  ADVERTISING 

A  Few  "  Nevers  " 

For  those   in   search   of  culture   and   profit,  and  who   are 

about  going  to   the   country  on   their  vacation  : 
Never  smack  the  lips  or  the  children  while  eating. 
Never  pick  your  teeth  or  a  quarrel  at  table.     Both  should 

be  picked  in  the  back  yard. 
Never  fasten  your  napkin   around  your   neck.     It   is  now 

customary  to  wear  a  collar  there. 
Never  make  a  pun  at  table  (or  anywhere  else). 
Never  drum  with  your  fingers   on   the  table.      You   can 

make  more    noise   by  beating  a  tattoo  on  your  plate 

with  your  knife. 
Never  smoke  cigars  while  eating  soup. 
Never  remark    "  I   see   Hash   Wednesday  is    here    again," 

when  croquettes  are  being  served 
Never  put  your  knife  in  your  mouth.     If  there  is  no  room 

on  the  table  for  it,  balance  it  on  the  shoulder  of  the 

person  next  to  you. 
Never  put  your  elbow  on  the  table.     If  at  a  loss  where  to 

keep  it  put  it  in  your  pocket 
Never  carry  fruit  or  bonbons  away  from  the  table.     If  you 

want  something  substantial  for  a  late  lunch,  sequester 

a  turkey  drum  stick  in  your  inside  pocket. 
Never  scrape  your  plate  or  tilt   it  to  obtain  the  last  drop 

of  anything  it  contains.      The  dishwasher  is  paid  to 

do  that. 
Never  stretch    your    feet    under    the   table  so  "as  to  touch 

those  of  your  vis-a-vis.     He  may  have   corns  whkh 

object  to  familiarity. 
And   last,  but    by   no  means   least  :    Never,   never,  never, 

place  your  orders  for  printing   or  lithographing  before 

coming  to  us. 

[Circular,  lo  x  \2j4,  black  ink,  gray  antique  cover  paper,  thick  enougli 
to  hang  up.] 

Not  How  Much  is  Said, 

But  how  attractively  it  is  presented.  It  is  surprising  to 
see  how  many  business  men  use  printing  that  not  only 
does  them  no  good,  but  really  does  them  harm. 
A  little  skill  in  bringing  forward  the  important  features  in 
a  pleasingly  attractive  manner  is  often  worth  hundreds  of 
dollars  to  an  advertiser.  We  have  set  many  a  business 
man  on  more  attractive  and  profitable  ways.  Maybe  we 
can  be  helpful  to  you.     We  do  printing  of  all  kinds. 

[Large  manilla  mailing  card,  11x7;  cut  in  orange,  matter  in  blue.  J 


ADVERTISING  'y^ 

A  Valentine. 

The  love  that  hides— too  modest  for  to  speak, 
Is  sometimes  twice  as  strong  for  seeming  weak : 
Hear  then,  what  pansies  whisper  soft  to  you, 
Your  lover,  dear,  is  shy  but  always  true. 

We  feel  that  some  sort  of  an  explanation  ought  to  go 
with  this  sentimental  outburst.  We  have  courted  you  for 
a  long  time,  and  although  satisfied  with  the  result,  we 
have  never  before  had  the  courage  to  express  ourselves  so 
plainly,  because  we  feared  it  might  be  considered  out  of 
place  during  business  hours  ;  but  we  trust  we  will  be 
excused  for  giving  way  to  our  feelings  during  this  season 
of  gush  and  sentiment.  This  is  St.  Valentine's  Day,  and 
Leap  Year,  and  we  propose  to  take  advantage  of  it  in 
spite  of  our  natural  modesty.  We  are  so  accustomed  to 
writing  up  prosy  advertisements  that  we  frequently  find 
ourselves  telling  our  best  girl  that  the  only  place  to  have 
printing  done  is  at  The  Lotus  Press,  23d  Street  near 
Sixth  Avenue,  and  so-forth,  and  so-forth,  when  we  really 
intended  to  tell  her  how  much  we  loved  her  and  what  a 
dear  little  creature  she  is,  and  how  empty  this  world 
would  be  without  her,  and  "how  we  long  to  lay  our 
head  in  her  lap  and  have  a  good  cry" — and  perhaps  it 
is  safer  to  write  her  in  a  business  strain  after  the  severe 
experience  of  ''Bunnie"  and  "Baby,"  and  save  the  H's 
and  K's  for  cur  business  announcements,  and  keep  our 
$46,000  in  our  inside  pocket  for  a  rainy  day — the  printing 
business  may  not  always  be  as  good  as  it  is  just  now, 
who  knows? 

And  now  since  we  have  explained  our  reasons  for  sending 
this  loving  epistle  and  made  so  bold  as  to  tell  our  ac- 
quaintances how  much  we  adore  them,  and  how  sincerely 
we  appreciate  their  favors  (orders),  we  extend  a  cordial 
invitation  to  them  to  come  and  see  us  (when  they  need 
anything  in  our  line). 
With  bushels  of  H's  and  K's  and  K.  M.  Q^ 

We  remain  as  ever, 

[Circular,  6  x  10,  printed  m  red  ink,  cut  of  pansy  set  at  the  side  of 
the  poetry.  Sent  out  on  St.  Valentine's  Day,  "  H's  and  K's,"  "Baby" 
and  "  Bunnie,"  etc.,  were  expressions  indulged  in  by  a  man  who  was 
sued  for  divorce  at  the  time  and  who  was  mulcted  for  $46,000.  The 
case  was  much  discussed  in  the  papers  and  was  familiar  to  every  one 
This  kind  of  advertising  will  do  occasionally,  if  it  is  a  timely  hit,  and 
especially  if  it  is  followed  up  with  something  of  a  more  serious  nature.] 


5«  ADVERTISING 

Mr.  Candidate  : 

You  are  losing  votes  if  your  printing  is  being  delayed. 
You  can't  expect  big  meetings  if  you  don't  let  people 
know  there  is  to  be  a  meeting.  YoU  can't  expect  to  be 
elected  if"  you  don't  get  your  friends  enthusiastic.  Your 
friends  won't  be  enthusiastic  unless  you  are.  You  ought 
to  keep  hammering  away  at  them  with  a  new  circular 
almost  every  day.  If  you  have  a  printer  who  can  do  the 
work  right  for  you,  and  do  it  quickly,  and  who  is  treating 
you  squarely,  stick  to  him — he  is  your  best  friend.  But, 
if  you  are  having  disappointments  of  any  kind  witii  your 
printing,  bring  your  orders  here  and  get  the  very  best 
service  that  money  can  buy.  Don't  send  your  order  by 
a  hanger-on  who  will  expect  a  commission — better  pay 
him  liberally  for  his  trouble  and  know  that  you  are  getting 
all  you  are  paying  for.  We  pay  no  commissions  and  pre- 
fer to  deal  direct. 
Are  you  using  as  much  printing  as  you  should? 

[Letter  circular,  sent  to  political  candidates  as  soon   as  nominations 
were  made.] 

We  make  a  specialty  of  church  printing  and  would  br 
pleased  to  have  your  order  for  Christmas  programmes. 
Among  the  churches  we  print  for  are  the  following  : 

All  Souls  Church  • 

Bergen  Reformed  Church 

Church  of  Divine  Paternity 

Church  of  the  Holy  Communion 

Church  of  The  Puritans 

Crescent  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church 

First*  Presbyterian  Church 

Fifth  Avenue  Baptist  Church 

Grace  M.  E.  Church 

Marble  Collegiate  Church 

Madison  Avenue  Reformed  Church 

Reformed  Church  of  Walden 

St.  Andrew's  Church 

St.  Mark's  Church 

St.  Paul's  Church 

West  End  Collegiate  Church 

West  Presbyterian  Church 

You  are  invited  to  call  and  look  at  samples  of  our  w(xk. 
[Printed  on  a  postal  card,  and  sent  to  all  churches  in  the  city.] 


ADVERTISING  S9 

Whoever  thou  art  that  enterest  this  Church  leave  it  not 

without  kneeling  down  and  saying  a  prayer  to  God  for 

thyself,  for  those  who  minister,  and  for  those  who  worship 

here. 

Surely  the  Lord  is  in  this  place. 

[A  vestibule  card,  size  1 1  x  S}4',  two-color  initial  in  red  and  gold,  rest 
•f  matter  printed  in  red  and  black ;  set  m  ecclesiastical  style,  large 
Tudor  type  ;  sent  to  ministers  of  all  churches  in  the  city  ;  extremely 
small  imprint  at  bottom  of  card.  With  this  was  sent  the  following 
circular  letter: 

The  Lotus  Press  sends  its  comphments  and  begs  you  to 
accept  these  two  Vestibule  Cards,  as  they  are  peculiarly 
appropriate  for  that  purpose 

The  Lotus    Press  makes   a   specialty   of  Church    Printing 
They  have  a  large  number  of  samples  to  show,   such   as 
Programmes,  Service  Lists,  Calendars   Cards,  etc. 
There   are  times   when   the   need   is   felt   for   some  excep- 
tionally attractive  printing. 
That  IS  the  time  to  visit  the  Lotus  Press.] 


Let's  Ght  Acquainted. 

Almost  every  business  house  will  send  out  some  kind  of 
announcement  or  circular  for  the  Fall  Trade,  and  nearly  all 
will  want  to  do  it  nicely,  and  probably  wish  they  could 
get  some  real  assistance  or  valuable  suggestion. 
Those  who  will  take  the  trouble  of  calling  at  our  place 
will  find  a  wealth  of  ideas  to  select  from,  and  will,  get 
the  help  of  our  best  judgment  in  the  matter  Others  who 
find  it  inconvenient  to  call  will  receive  suggestions  by 
return  mail  if  they  will  send  us  the  copy  of  their  circular 
or  announcement,  or  whatever  they  require. 
We  do  all  kinds  of  printing,  but  call  special  attention  to 
Fall  advertising  in  this  circular,  as  it  is  probably  the  thing 
that  is  wanted  at  this  moment. 

[Circular,  printed  on  double  sheet,  5x8;  brown  ink,  white  paper. 
Same  caption  on  the  envelope  in  large  type,] 

Spring  Announcements. 

A  crying  baby  at  a  public  meeting  is  like  a  good  sugges- 
•  tion — it   ought   to   be   carried   out.      We  wish  to  suggest 

that  now  is  the  time  to  issue  a  nice  Spring  Announce- 
ment, and  if  you  make  up  your  mind  to  carry  out  this 
suggestion  let  us  do  the  work  for  you. 

[Card,  4^^  \  ■y}4,  io  fit  baronial  envelope  ;  printed  in  two  colors] 


6o  ADVERTISING 

Thk  Wrong  Way. 

The  wrong  way  to  buy  printing  is  the  "cheap"  way. 
If  printing  is  to  build  business,  it  must  be  good  printing. 
Good  enough  or  pretty  fair  won't  do.  The  best  only  i> 
good  enough.  (We  do  the  best  work.)  If  you  strain  at 
a  dollar  and  swallow  a  mean  job — some  do — your  adver- 
tising cannot  be  bringing  the  best  results.  Good  money 
pays  for  good  work — we  do  the  best  work.  We  know 
how  —  know  five  years  more  how  than  other  printers. 
We  mix  brains  with  the  ink — the  printers'  ink.  Booklets 
are  trade-fetchers  —  leaflets,  folders,  circulars  are  money- 
makers. We  estimate  if  you  ask  us — and  you  might 
better  ask  us. 

[Circular,  4>^  x  i  i  ,      amber   paper,  green    ink  ;    caption    made   in 
reverse  so  as  to  read  backwards.] 

Don't 

deal  with  a  house  where  you  have  to  explain  your  busi- 
ness to  an  errand  boy,  crane  your  neck  to  talk  to  an 
insolent  clerk  behind  a  glass  partition,  or  stand  in  a  little 
enclosure  and  lean  your  elbows  on  a  counter  while 
transacting  your  business  If  you  experience  any  of  these 
annoyances,  that  is  proof  that  you  are  not  a  customer  of 
ours,  so  send  your  next  order  here  and  see  the  difference. 
Your  work  will  be  done  as  you  want  it,  when  you  want 
it,  and  at  the  right  price.  Try  it.  It  will  be  a  pleasure 
•  to  you,  and  money  in  your  pocket  besides. 

[Circular,  5;^  x  8  l4,  white  paper,  black  ink]. 

Your  Printer  is  Prosphrous 

A  year  ago  when  there  was  a  general  stagnation  we  were 
busy.  We  said  then  if  times  were  normal  we  would  not 
be  able  to  handle  all  our  work  Times  are  now  normal — 
our  prediction  was  correct  We  have  been  compelled  to 
take  three  times  as  much  working  room  as  we  had  before, 
besides  adding  very  largely  to  our  type  and  press  facilities 
Your  orders  will  receive  the  same  prompt  and  careful 
attention  as  in  the  past,  and  with  your  co-operation  we 
hope  to  be  compelled  to  spread  to  even  greater  propor- 
tions in  the  not  very  distant  future. 

We  are  recognized  as  the  best  printers,  and  in  time  may 
be  the  largest. 

[Circular,  5>^  x  8j^  ;   printed  on  blue  tinted  paper,  with  dark  blue 
ink  ;  envelope  to  match  1 


ADVERTISING  6 1 

Wouldn't 

a  special  "circular   or  holiday  announcement   benefit   your 

business  ? 

We  will  help  get  it  up  for  you  if  you  wish  it. 

Our  advertising  pays  us — we  believe  we  can  help   make 

yours  pay,  too. 

If  you  will  call  on  us  you  will  probably  decide  to  act  on 

this  suggestion.     We  have  arranged  a  special  display  for 

the  occasion.     You  will  be  interested. 

[Decorative  circular,  3  X  1 1 ,  legal  fold;  ornamentation  in  agate  tint, 
matter  in  agate  ;  primrose  card.] 

;  G^N^LEMEN  : 

r\Jhe  enclosed  piece  of  printing  was  done  for  a  house  in 
'  your  line  and  is  sent  to  you  as  a  sample  of  our  general 
work,  with  a  view  of  making  a  customer  of  you.  v 
We  treat  this  work  in  an  effective  way.  We  do  not 
overlook  the  commercial  needs,  nor  do  we  lose  sight  of  the 
artistic  possibilities.  We  also  do  all  kinds  of  plain  printing. 
We  aim  to  meet  all  legitimate  competition  in  price  and 
give  greater  value  for  the  money  expended. 
We  trust  you  will  keep  our  card  before  you  and  remember 
us  with  your  next  order. 

[Circular,  with  sample  of  handsome  booklet,  sent  to  other  houses  in 
the  same  line  of  business.     Our  card  enclosed.] 

We  Are  Bound  This  Shall  Be  Re(a)d. 

Not  simply 
"Striking  the  iron  while  it  is  hot," 
But— 
By  striking  make  it  hot. 

That  is  the  way  to  successful  advertising.  Some  of  the 
business  men  in  this  neighborhood  are  napping.  Persist- 
ent advertising  indicates  enthusiasm.  Get  out  a  circular 
this  week,  a  folder  next  week,  then  a  booklet,  etc.,  etc. 
There  is  no  printer  who  can  do  it  better  for  you  than 
The  Lotus  Press.  We  put  enthusiasm  into  our  business, 
and  can  give  your  printing  that  touch  of  originality  that 
will  make  it  effective.  A  glance  at  some  of  our  samples 
may  give  you  an  idea.     You  are  invited  to  call. 

[Triple  fold,  6  x  ii^  printed  on  a  Turkey  red  cardboard,  with  this 
caption  on  the  outside  centre  fold  :  '*  We  are  bound  this  shall  be 
re(a)d."     This  little  couplet  on  the  outside  end  fold: 

No  wild  enthusiast  ever  yet  could  rest, 

'Till  half  mankind  were  like  himself  possess'd. 

— CowperJ] 


62  ADVERTISING 

One  of  Our  Many 

Pleased  customers  wrote  recently  :  "  I  heartily  appreciate 
the  rare  and  admirable  qualities  of  your  work.  You  have 
resolved  printing  into  a  fine  art.  I  know  not  which  to 
admire  most — your  high  standards  of  excellence,  your 
tasteful  combination  of  type  and  color,  or  skillful  press- 
work."  In  this  connection  we  wish  to  say,  if  you  are  not 
entirely  pleased  with  the  work  you  are  getting  in  this 
line,  we  would  like  to  render  you  this  same  service.  We 
desire  to  state,  also,  that  we  have  added  a  new  feature 
— Photography.  If  you  want  to  issue  an  illustrated  leaflet 
or  circular  we  will  take  a  photograph  of  whatever  may  be 
required  for  the  purpose.  You  simply  write  the  copy — 
we  now  "press  the  button"  and  do  all  the  rest.  We 
are  centrally  located,  and  trust  we  may  have  the  pleasure 
of  a  personal  call  from  you. 

[Circular,  S]4.  by  ii,  natural  coated  paper,  two-color  initial,  gold 
and  brown,  type  matter  in  brown ;  cut  in  lower  left  hand  corner, 
photographer  looking  through  camera,  camera  mounted  on  tripod,  aimed 
at  the  reader  of  the  circular.] 

Booklets  are  considered  most  profitable  advertisements, 
but  in  order  to  produce  the  very  best  results  they  must 
be  neat  and  artistic. 

An  ordinary  booklet  will  be  likely  to  make  the  same  im- 
pression as  a  slovenly  representative,  but  if  it  combines 
artistic  taste  with  good  language  your  booklet  will  be  a 
success. 

We  make  artistic  booklets — the  "successful"  kind. 
We  make  this  kind  because  it  pays  us  as  well  as  our 
customers.  We  make  more  profit  at  it  than  most  print- 
ers, though  we  do  not  charge  any  more  than  they— not 
as  much  as  some.  The  reason  is,  that  we  know  how 
and  are  especially  equipped  for  it.  It  is  our  specialty.  If 
you  are  a  believer  in  this  kind  of  advertising  we  can  be 
of  service  to  you.  We  take  pride  in  our  place  and  are 
not  ashamed  to  have  prospective  customers  call  on  us. 
You  are  invited.  (If  it  is  not  convenient  for  you  to  call, 
invite  us.) 

[Printed  on  the  office  letter  head,  in  typewriter  type,  violet  ink  ; 
signed  with  a  pen,] 

Remember 

August  is  the  time  to  think  of  ordering  printing  for  Fall. 

[Baronial  size,  hand-made  deckel  edge  paper,  envelope  to  match  ; 
printed  in  three  colors  ;  trade  mark  in  lower  left  hand  corner.] 


ADVERTISING  t)} 

Attractive  Printing. 

A  little  illustration  will  sometimes  add  interest  to  a  card, 
circular  or  booklet.  We  have  many  useful  little  cuts 
which  our  customers  can  have  the  use  of  without  extra 
cost.  We  have  a  very  large  collection  of  ornaments  and 
initial  letters  which  help  to  make  our  printing  very  attractive. 
We  know  how  to  use  them  to  good  advantage. 
Our  prices  are  reasonable. 

[Circular,  9  x    12  ;   cuts  all   around  the   margin,  printed    in    liglir 
brown,  body  of  circular  in  agate.] 

To  Our  Customers. 

It  will  probably  be  a  source  of  pleasure  to  you  to  learn  that 
we  are  exhibitors  at  the  Architectural  League  Exhibition, 
now  being  held  at  the  American  Fine  Arts  Building, 
syth  Street  near  Broadway,  and  that  we  are  the  only 
printers  represented  The-  honor  conferred  speaks  strongly 
for  the  merits  of  our  work,  and  is,  indeed,  ''a  feather  in 
our  cap."  If  you  visit  the  exhibition  Fyou  will  find  our 
frame  in  the  West  Gallery  (No.  245). 

[Enameled  card  to  fit  No.  6  envelope,  printed  in  red  and  black.] 

We  Want  Your  Endorsement. 

If  we  were  candidates  for  an  elective  office  we  are  confi- 
dent that  we  could  count  on  your  hearty  support,  but  as 
we  have  no  political  aspirations  we  trust  you  will  always 
bear  us  in  mind  as  "High  Grade  Printers."  To  this  end 
we  shall  endeavor  to  merit  your  endorsement. 

Yours  for  success. 

[Card,  to  fit  No.  7  envelope,  printed  in  red  and  black  ;  cut  of  bal- 
lot box  in  upper  right  hand  corner;  sent  out  just  before  election  time.] 

A  Customer  Writes  : 

"You  treat  your  customers  better  than  most  people  treat 
their  intimate  friends." 

Letters  of  appreciation  are  always  very  gratifying  to  us. 
Gains  that  come  as  a  matter  of  premium  and  are  not 
earned,  are  apt  to  lack  permanence.  Many  of  our  custom- 
ers have  dealt  with  us  from  the  beginning  of  our  business 
career — over  thirteen  years.  If  we  did  not  earn  their  con- 
fidence, and  after  earning,  maintain  it,  the  results  would 
not  have  been  so  lasting. 

[Card,  to  fit  No.  6  envelope,  printed  in  two  colors.] 


64  ADVERTISING 

The  Lotus  Press 

Invites  you  to  a  novel  exhibition  of  Art  Papetenes,  Fold- 
ers and  Printing  (suggestions  for  Easter  and  Spring  An- 
nouncements), from  March  27th  to  April  3d,  i  to  4  p.  m. 
daily.     140  West  Twenty-third  Street,  New  York  City. 

[Printed  on  an  invitation  card,  card  addressed  to  individual,  sent 
out  three  weeks  before  Easter  ;  large  line  of  appropriate  samples  from 
all  stock  houses.] 


Heard  Us  Before. 

We're  talking  again,  talking  to  the  hard-to-please  people 
who  like  particular  printing.  We  are  Particular  Printers  ; 
we  put  in  that  little  extra  nice  touch  that  pleases  you. 
Be  the  job  big  or  little — its  big  enough  to  be  well  done. 
Our  Particular  Department  is  our  whole  shop.  Ask  us  to 
prove  it  ;  we  can  make  you  believe  that  Our  best  is  The 
best. 

[Large  mailing  card,  0x4;  printed  on  8-ply  yellow  blank.     On  the 
address  side  a  large  headline,  "  I've  heard  that  before."] 

As  schools  are  frequently  judged  by  their  catalogues  and 
other  printed  matter,  we  desire  to  call  your  attention  to 
our  special  facilities  for  high-grade  printing  of  all  kinds. 
If  the  difference  between  a  nicely  printed  catalogue  and 
one  poorly  done  influences  only  a  few  people,  it  more 
than  pays  for  the  difference  in  cost  ;  and  that  it  will  so 
influence,  there  can  be  no  question.  We  will  be  pleased 
to  look  into  the  matter  with  you  if  you  contemplate  issu- 
ing a  catalogue  for  the  coming  term. 

[Printed  on  office  letter  heads,  in  typewriter  type,  violet  ink;  signed 
\vith  a  pen  ;  sent  to  private  schools.] 


.  "  Drat  the  Printer," 

Is  a  remark  frequently  indulged  in,  that  might  just  as 
well  be  avoided.  There  is  no  reason  why  your  printjng 
should  not  be  done  on  time  ;  and  well  done,  too.  Do 
you  suppose  that  such  corporations  as  the  Cigarette 
Manufacturers  or  the  Whiskey  Trust  would  tolerate  any 
house  short  of  '' first-class  and  reliable?"  We  do  their 
work  and  would  like  to  do  yours.  If  you  use  any  print- 
ing it  will  pay  you  to  communicate  with  us  (for  many 
reasons). 

[Circular,  5K  ^  ^J^^,  black  ink,  white  paper.] 


ADVERTISING 


A  Roman  Type. 


•  There  is  a  tide  in  tiie  affairs  of  men. 
Which,  taken  at  the  flood,  leads  on  to  fortune  :  "  but — 

Ye  gods  !   how  a  dilatory  printer  can  upset   one's  plans  ! 

Are  you  handicapped  in  this  way? 

When  the  successful  man  finds  that  he  needs  a  thing,  lie 

wants  it  at  once,  and  should  be  in  a  position  to  get  it. 

This  is  especially  so  with  printing.     We  can  give  it  to  you 

when  you  want  it. 

We   are   printers  to  some  of  the   largest  concerns  in  this 

country,  and   are   anxious   to  add   you   to  our  list.     We 

cater  to  the  wants  of  successful  men.  ^ 

We  have  the  type,  necessary  facilities  and  ability  for  prnmpt    vCjL  Vi»»rM 

service.     Send  us  your  work — it  will  pay  you. 

(The  size  of  this  circular  was  8j!^x  ii  ;  the  caption  in  a  large  bold 
Roman  type,  and  a  metal  type  glued  on  at  the  side  of  the  caption  ; 
heavy  ledger  paper,  black  ink  ;  enclosed  in  a  No.  lo  envelope] 

Will  it  please  the  eye  and  hold  the  attention?  That  is 
the  test  we  apply  to  all  printing  of  an  advertising  nature. 
Our  practical  experience  as  printers  and  advertisers,  and 
our  art  education,  qualify  us  to  decide  correctly.  When 
it  passes  our  criticism  you  will  probably  find  no  improve- 
ments to  suggest.  We  can  help  you  make  your  printing 
and  pamphlets  more  profitable. 

[Folder,  4x0,  with   attractive  cut  on  outside  page  ;    printed  in  old 
gold,  black  and  tint.] 


To  Our  Customers. 

The  long  promised  wave  of  prosperity  appears  to  be 
approaching.  Put  aside  your  fishing-rods  and  get  ready 
for  business.  We  trust  you  have  enjoyed  your  vacation, 
and  we  hope  to  be  remembered  when  you  are  ordering 
your  printing. 
Yours  for  success  through  good  printing. 

The  Glad  Hand. 

The  pleasure  of  greeting  to  many  ot  our  patrons  in  the 
past  few  days  prompts  us  to  extend  a  hearty  "how-do" 
to  all.  When  you  are  in  our  neighborhood  come  in  and 
see  us.    When  you  need  anything  in  our  line  don't  forget  us. 

[Two  advertising  blotters  ;  sent  out  at  the  end  of  the  Summer  vaca- 
tion,    lllu  trated  with  cuts.] 


66  ADVERTISING 

How  About  A  Thanksgiving  Announcement. 

An  appropriate  circular  or  card  for  Thanksgiving  Day 
would  be  a  very  effective  advertisement  for  many  lines  of 
business.  They  should,  of  course,  be  gotten  out  immedi- 
ately or  at  least  within  the  next  week.  We  have  appro- 
priate illustrations,  and  will  give  our  prompt  attention  to 
Thanksgiving  orders.  The  above  is  simply  a  suggestion. 
Remember  we  do  all  kinds  of  printing  and  do  it  well  and 
reasonable. 

[A  four-page   circular,   51^  x  8}4,  filled   with   Thanksgiving  cuts, 
printed  in  green  ink  on  yellow  coated  paper.] 


The    Lotus    Press,    Printers   of   Work    Other    Printers   Can't 
Print. 

Our  best  success  is  with  those  who  leave  their  work  to 
our  taste.     We  aim  to  make  every  job  profitable  to  our 
customers.     Our  prices  are  reasonable. 
Every  order  receives  special  treatment. 

Commercial  Printing, 
Catalogues, 
Booklets, 
Brochures,  etc.,  etc. 

Our  work  has  received  most  flattering  comments  from  the 
leading  advertising  papers  and  printers'  trade  magazines. 
We  invite  orders  from  users  of  particular  printing. 

[Ornamental  circular,  5^x8>^  ;  printed  on  vegetable  parchment 
paper,  attached  to  a  purple  cover  with  a  fancy  brass  fastener,  tied  with 
yellow  silk  floss,  which  was  secured  to  the  cover  with  sealing  wax  ; 
addressed  to  the  individual  with  gold  writing  fluid.] 


Richards  is  a  Man 

Of  large  experience  and  a  "  close  buyer."  His  printing  is 
done  by  The  Lotus  Pfess,  140  West  23d  Street,  New 
York  City.  If  you  want  to  know  more  about  the  Lotus 
Press  ask  Mr.  Richards.  If  you  want  a  practical  demon- 
stration of  what  they  can  do,  don't  bother  Mr.  Richards 
but  send  an  order — it  will  pay  you.  The  successful  man 
profits  by  the  experience  of  others.  (Profit  by  the  experi- 
ence of  Mr.  Richards.) 

[Circular,  5J^  x  8}4,  black  ink,  white  paper.     Richards  was  an  en- 
terprising advertiser  in  our  locality.] 


ADVERTISING  67 

A  series  of  postal  cards,  each  with  appropriate  illustration.  A  tint 
block  printed  over  the  entire  back  of  the  postals  so  as  to  make  them 
Jook  different  from  the  regular  postals  received  in  the  business  man's 
jnail. 


Pamphlets. 

Your  valuable  time  should  not  be  taken  up  in  furnishing 
ideas  for  your  printer.  You  are  not  a  printer,  and  he 
should  be  competent  to  relieve  .you  of  this  annoyance. 
The  success  of  a  pamphlet  depends  on  the  taste  and 
judgment  displayed  in  the  designing  and  type-setting,  and 
it  is  in  this  part  of  the  work  that  we  particularly  excel. 
Send  us  the  order  for  your  next  pamphlet,  booklet  or  cat- 
alogue and  let  us  show  you  what  we  can  do. 

Art  in  Printing. 

A  touch  of  art  improves  a  piece  of  printing.  It  adds  a 
little  to  the  expense,  but  it  more  than  pays  for  the  differ- 
ence in  the  cost.  A  whole  life  devoted  to  the  study  of 
good  printing,  together  with  an  art  education,  has  qualified 
us  to  do  the  work  in  a  way  that  will  make  it  profitable 
to  you.  Send  us  the  order  for  your  next  catalogue  or 
pamphlet,  and  let  us  show  you  wherein  we  excel. 

Luck  in  Business. 

Our  knowledge  of  good  printing  is  the  result  of  a  prac- 
tical art  education,  combined  with  years  of  experience  in 
handling  the  work  of  successful  business  houses.  There 
is  no  guess  work  about  it  ;  it  has  been,  and  is,  a  constant 
schooling.  It  is  probable  that  an  order  for  a  catalogue 
or  pamphlet  would  make  a  customer  of  you  and  relieve 
you  of  much  annoyance  thereafter,  as  it  would  demonstrate 
our  efficiency  and  secure  your  confidence.  When  you 
are  ready  let  us  look  into  it  with  you. 

A  Touch  of  Art. 

Often  the  mere  setting  up  of  the  type  in  an  attractive  and 
pleasing  style,  or  the  addition  of  a  few  illustrations,  or  a 
more  tasteful  cover  is  the  only  change  necessary  to  make 
an  unsuccessful  pamphlet  a  profitable  one.  With  our  prac- 
tical knowledge  of  art  we  are  enabled  to  do  it  Tight.  A 
mere  suggestion  from  us  may  be  of  value  to  you.  On 
your  next  catalogue  or  pamphlet  let  us  show  you  wherein 
we  excel. 


68  ADVERTISING 


Aiming  at  You, 


If  you  are  a  large  user  of  printing  you  cannot  afford  to 
waste  time  with  incompetent  printers.  We  want  your 
particular  work,  and  while  suggestions  are  of  course  valu- 
able, we  do  not  expect  you  to  fuss  with  the  details  of 
arrangement.  If  you  will  send  us  the  copy  for  an  estimate 
we  will  show  you  what  we  will  make  of  it.  An  art  edu- 
cation and  a  life  devoted  to  the  careful  study  of  good 
printmg  are  our  advantages.  Now  is  a  good  time  to 
prepare  pamphlets  or  catalogues  for  early  Fall  business. 


Now. 

At  this  season  many  orders  are  placed  for  catalogues  and 
pamphlets.  Practical  ideas,  together  with  our  art  education 
and  knowledge  of  »good  printing,  enables  us  to  cut  off 
the  waste-basket  circulation  and  make  the  investment 
more  profitable  to  you.  If  you  will  send  us  the  copy  for 
your  next  catalogue  or  pamphlet  we  will,  show  you 
wherein  we  excel.  During  July  and  August  you  could 
probably  give  the  work  more  attention  than  at  any  other 
time. 

Critics. 

Competent  critics  have  said  of  us,  ''there  are  no  better 
printers  than  these."  We  are  prepared  to  arrange  with  a 
few  more  large  users  of  good  printing  and  can  give  them 
the  kind  of  service  and  advice  in  printing  that  they  expect 
to  get  from  a  first-class  lawyer  in  legal  matters.  Business 
men  who  do  not  wish  to  experiment  for  the  sake  of  sav- 
ing a  dollar  or  two  are  invited  to  consult  us  when  they 
require  good  printing  of  any  kind.  We  believe  we  can 
be  a  great  help. 


Booklets. 


When  we  take  an  order  for  a  booklet,  we  make  up  an 
artist's  dummy — that  is,  a  hand-painted  sample  copy,  which 
shows  exactly  what  the  finished  work  will  look  like.  We 
do  not  expect  our  customers  to  furnish  the  ideas.  Our 
life  study  of  fine  printing  and  our  art  education  enable  us 
to  get  it  up  in  a  way  that  will  insure  its  being  read, 
and  make  a  favorable  impression.  If  you  like  this  way 
and  need  a  booklet,  consult  us.  You  have  more  to  gain 
than  we. 


ADVERTISING  69 

Experiments  are  Costly. 

The  class  of  printing  we  do  cannot  be  had  elsewhere. 
At  the  present  time  we  stand  out  distinct  and  alone. 
Each  succeeding  booklet  we  print  is  probably  better  than 
the  one  before.  We  never  expect  to  reach  the  limit  of 
excellence  until  the  very  last  "job"  is  done.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  give  prices  for  catalogue  printing  without  seeing 
the  copy  and  knowing  the  size.  We  would  like  to  quote 
rates  to  every  good  advertiser  who  will  write  and  ask 
for  them. 

Fall  Printing. 

Most  any  printer  will  take  a  big  price  for  his  work  if  he 
can  get  it.  Don't  pay  the  price  unless  you  get  the  value. 
There  are  many  printers  who  will  charge  you  as  much  as 
the  Lotus  Press  will.  There  is  no  printer  who  will  give 
you  as  good  work.  •  That  is  a  sweeping  statement,  and 
we  mean  it  to  be. 

We  are  practically  without  competition.  Nobody  else  is 
doing  the  sort  of  work  that  we  do.  Nobody  else  has  the 
same  equipment  for  it  that  we  have.  Nobody  else  is  giv- 
ing their  minds  to  it  as  we  are.  Nobody  else  has  had  the 
training  for  it  that  we  have  had.  You  cannot  get  Lotus 
Press  work  anywhere  but  at  the  Lotus  Press.  We  put 
art  and  brains  and  carefulness  into  every  piece  of  work 
that  goes  out  of  the  place. 
How  about  your  Fall  Printing? 

The  reader  of  this  chapter  will  find  it  necessary  to 
qualify  himself  to  carry  out  the  inducements  that  are 
offered  if  he  intends  to  use  these  advertisements,  other- 
wise his  advertising  will  not  pay.  Some  people  labor 
under  the  delusion  that  advertising  will  pay  even  though 
the  thing  advertised  has  no  particular  merit.  It  will 
certainly  never  pay  to  do  this  in  the  printing  business 
— or  any  other  legitimate  business. 

It  is  claimed  by  many  printers  that  there  is  no  special 
inducement  to  offer  in  this  business,  and  that  there- 
fore it  is  not  a  business  that  will  respond  to  advertis- 
ing.    A  careful  study  of  the  examples  on  the  preceding 


70  ADVHRTISING 

pages  will  reveal  a  number  of  special  inducements  ancf 
suggest  others.  As  1  stated  in  the  beginning  of  this 
chapter,  good  advertising  requires  careful  and  close  at- 
tention to  business,  and  will  rouse  the  advertiser  to 
give  more  thought  to  all  the  details  of  his  business. 
Good  advertising  involves  enthusiasm,  and  enthusiasm 
is  an  indispensable  element  of  success.  Enthusiasm  is 
contagious,  its  influence  will  spread  over  the  entire  es- 
tablishment and  stimulate  the  whole  force.  It  will 
prompt  customers  to  follow  the  example  set,  thus  in- 
creasing the  business. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

HOW   TO   TALK  TO   CUSTOMERS. 

The  education  of  customers  to  an  appreciation  of 
good  printing  and  its  commercial  value  is  a  science 
worthy  of  study.  The  printer  who  would  prosper 
should  be  a  salesman,  or  have  one  in  his  business 
office  who  is  gifted  as  a  salesman.  There  is  more 
money  to  be  made  by  proper  talk  at  the  desk  than  by 
much  fingering  at  the  case.  I  do  not  wish  to  be  under- 
stood as  advocating  the  persuasive,  jollying  talk  by 
which  ^ome  salesmen  secure  orders — 1  mean  brainy 
talk  that  appeals  to  common  sense,  and  invites  the 
customer  to  take  that  which  is  better  for  himself  and 
better  for  the  printer. 

The  most  common  failing  among  buyers  of  printing 
is  that  the  desire  to  get  it  at  a  low  price  leads  them 
to  beat  down  the  printer,  with  the  result  that  he  gives 
work  that  is  not  of  the  highest  excellence.  -  One  of  the 
most  serious  failings  among  master  printers  is  that  they 
submit  to  this  sort  of  thing,  and  that  so  many  strive 
all  the  time  to  lower  their  prices  in  order  to  meet  the 
customer's  demands.  This  practice  in  business  is  all 
wrong.  The  only  right  way — for  the  good  of  the 
printer  himself,  for  the  good  of  the  craft,  and  for  the 
customer  also — is  to  talk  for  better  and  finer  work, 
first,  last,  and  all  the  time. 


72  HOW    TO   TALK    TO   CUSTOMERS. 

Cheap  printing  always  presents  so  many  weak 
points  for  attack  that  it  is  comparatively  easy  for  the 
printer  to  prove  to  his  customer  the  uselessness  of 
spending  his  money  for  anything  but  a  high  grade  of 
work.  The  wonder  to  me  is  that  all  printers  do  not 
persistently  and  everlastingly  drum  it  into  the  customer 
that  cheap  printing  is  profitless  ;  and  yet  I  know  that 
^i  very  great  number  of  printers  seem  to  expend  more 
■effort  in  the  suicidal  endeavor  to  cheapen  work  for  the 
public  than  in  praiseworthy  exertions  to  upbuild  it. 
The  notion  is  so  unbusinesslike,  that  it  is  hard  to  under- 
stand why  self-interest  has  not  dictated  the  wiser  course 
to  all.  If  I  could  have  the  ear  of  every  printer  in 
America  for  just  one  half  minute,  I  think  that  I  could 
do  more  good  for  the  trade  by  shouting  ''Talk  up  the 
quality  of  your  work,  rather  than  its  cheapness  !  " — than 
by  almost  any  other  sentence  that  could  be  framed. 

Continually  impress  upon  your  customer  that  issuing 
cheap  printing  is  like  wearing  cheap  clothes  ;  that  it 
brings  only  discredit,  and  destroys  the  power  of  printers' 
ink  to  build  up  and  increase  trade.  The  standing  of  a 
firm  is  often  judged  by  the  quality  of  the  printing  that 
it  sends  out  ;  the  character  of  their  goods  is  pretty  sure 
to  be  estimated  as  the  equivalent  of  the  printing.  If 
this  were  not  so,  the  expensive  catalogues  and  price 
lists  often  seen  would  never  be  issued.  The  Gorham 
Company  a  few  years  ago  issued  an  illustrated  catalogue 
on  which  the  printer's  bill  was  $110,000.  The  printer 
who  secured  the  contract  doubtless  knew  how  to  talk 
as  well  as  how  to  print.  Suppose  that  he  had  been  a 
poor  talker,  or  had  tried  to  give  them  a  catalogue  at  a 
low  figure,  he  would  then  have  lost  a  profitable  job, 
:ind  the  credit  of  turning  out  a  superb  piece  of  work- 


HOW   TO   TALK    TO   CUSTOMERS.  7^ 

manship  that  was  probably  worth  several  thousand 
dollars  to  him  as  an  advertisement. 

It  is  more  often  possible  to  talk  a  customer  into 
using  a  better  quality  of  work  than  originally  intended 
than  many  printers  suppose.  A  good  way  when  fig- 
uring on  a  new  piece  of  work  is  to  make  the  calcula- 
tions and  quote  a  price  on  a  plain  job,  and  then  to 
suggest  to  the  customer,  ''Would  it  not  be  worth 
your  while  to  spend  a  little  more,  and  secure  a  better 
effect.?  If  it  is  worth  while  to  spend  $500  in  getting 
out  5,000  of  these  catalogues,  is  it  not  well  to  add 
smother  $100  to  make  them  beautiful  and  artistic,  so 
that  they  may  attract  attention,  be  more  widely  read, 
:md  sell  more  goods.?"  If  this  sort  of  talk  is  followed 
up  by  the  exhibition  of  samples  of  fine  work,  and  with 
references  to  the  greater  impression  that  is  made  on 
possible  buyers  by  the  fine  job,  a  customer  very 
frequently  may  be  influenced  to  go  higher  than  he 
originally  intended.  By  such  means  not  only  does  the 
printer  secure  a  job  better  worth  having,  but  he  elimi- 
nates the  chances  of  the  work's  being  given  to  some 
cheap  printer  who  is  cutting  prices,  because  he  has 
impressed  on  the  customer  the  idea  that  quality  is  what  he 
wants,  and  that  he  must  pay  more  to  get  that  quality. 

A  good  level-headed  salesman  in  the  counting-room 
will  "talk  up"  every  $1,000  dollars  worth  of  work 
offered  his  firm  to  $1,200,  earning  his  own  salary  in 
this  one  item  of  judicious  talk.  It  pays  to  have  as  an 
estimator  a  man  who  is  a  good  talker  ;  one  who  can 
read  men  and  appeal  to  the  qualities  that  he  recognizes 
in  them.  Intelligence  of  this  sort  is  hard  to  buy,  and 
proprietors  mostly  have  to  furnish  it  themselves  or  go 
without. 


74  HOW    TO   TALK   TO   CUSTOMERS. 

It  is  well  to  lay  out  a  regular  system  of  talk  for 
customers,  to  plan  ahead  all  the  arguments  that  can  be 
brought  to  bear  upon  them  to  increase  the  quality  of 
their  printing,  and  to  allow  the  printer  a  fair  margin 
of  profit.  The  application  of  these  arguments  must 
necessarily  be  very  varied,  depending  upon  the  work, 
the  customer,  and  the  surrounding  circumstances.  But 
the  effort  to  develop  work  by  talking  should  never  be 
relaxed,  for  it  is  a  very  valuable  factor  in  the  develop- 
ment of  trade.  Good  talk  often  builds'  up  a  printery, 
while  the  lack  of  it  may  allow  a  good  business  to 
deteriorate. 

The  printer  should  never  allow  the  assumption  that 
he  cannot  compete  with  other  firms  in  the  trade.  The 
instant  this  idea  appears  in  his  talk,  the  customer  is  apt 
to  think  that  the  other  place  is  a  good  one  for  him  to 
go  to  when  he  wants  the  real  thing.  Talk  as  if  you 
had  the  best  facilities,  keeping  any  weaknesses  of  your 
plant  to  yourself;  talk  with  enthusiasm,  and  then  you 
will  convince.  Whatever  the  character  of  your  office, 
it  has  some  points  of  merit  that  you  can  point  out  to 
the  customer,  and  it  is  your  duty  to  think  out  just 
what  they  are,  and  use  them  in  your  talk  as  occasion 
demands.  Depend  upon  it  the  bright  men  among  your 
competitors  will  be  doing  the  same  thing.  Know  the 
value  of  your  position  in  the  printing  world,  and  insist 
upon  its  recognition. 

By  keeping  in  the  counting-room  a  large  line  of 
samples,  talk  with  the  customer  is  much  facilitated. 
The  judicious  exhibition  of  samples  forms  a  back- 
ground to  your  talk  that  is  as  effective  as  are  the 
illustrations  to  the  text  of  a  magazine.  They  assist  you 
in    continually  calling  attention    to    the    originality   and 


HOW   TO   TALK   TO  CUSTOMERS.  75. 

ornateness  of  your  work.  A  superior  line  of  ^samples 
seldom  fails  to  impress  a  customer  with  the  idea  that 
you  are  a  superior  printer.  We  should  remember  that 
printing  is  an  art  as  well  as  a  trade,  and  that  the 
printer  who  leads  his  customer  to  better  and  more  ar- 
tistic things  is  the  printer  who  will  earn  the  greatest 
rewards.  Judicious  talk  is  perhaps  the  most  effective 
means  the  printer  has  for  improving  his  trade.  It  re- 
quires no  expenditure  of  money,  only  judgment  and 
brains.  By  advertising  he  may  bring  in  customers,  but 
it  requires  talk  to  land  them,  retain  them,  and  develop 
them  into  patrons  of  good  printing. 

A  recent  article  in  the  Printer  and  Bookmaker  con- 
tains the  following   sensible  thoughts  on   this  subject  : 

We  are  trying  to  impress  the  printer  who  might  be  a 
talker,  that  he  may  give  more  attention  to  this  necessary 
branch  of  his  business.  It  is  not  sufficient  when  asked  for 
an  estimate  simply  to  hand  over  the  figures.  It  is  your 
business  to  show  the  prospective  customer  that  it  is  better 
for  him  to  give  you  the  job  at  your  price  than  to  accept  a 
lower  figure  from  some  one  else.  You  cannot  expect  to  be 
successful  in  this  perhaps  more  than  one  time  in  ten,  but  if 
you  succeed  in  getting  one  in  ten  by  some  happy  argument, 
the  merit  and  the  profit  will  be  all  due  to  your  talk. 

The  man  who  gives  out  printing  always  has  some  ob- 
ject in  view.  He  expects  to  realize  a  profit  or  gain  of  some 
sort.  If  you  can  show  him  that  you  can  serve  him  better 
than  others,  as  in  promptness,  tasteful  display,  an  extra 
quality  of  work,  or  suggestions  that  help  out  his  ideas,  you 
can  hope  to  get  the  printing  at  a  higher  price  than  some,  one 
who  offers  no  other  inducement  than  a  low  price. 

If  by  your  talk  you  can  enable  the  customer  to  see 
more  money  coming  to  him  as  a  result  of  his  printing, 
you  have  scored  a  valuable  point  with  him.  High-class 
printing  will  always  appeal  to  the  eye  of  the  customer; 
make  it  appeal  to  his  pocket-book  also,  by  calling  his 
attention  to  the  fnct  that  a    thousand  copies  of  a  fine 


76  HOW    TO   TALK   TO   CUSTOMERS. 

piece  of  printing  will  often  be  read  by  more  people 
than  ten  thousand  copies  of  a  piece  of  cheap  printing, 
and  that  the  people  who  read  the  good  work  are  sure 
to  be  more  favorably  impressed  than  those  who  read 
the  cheap  work,  no  matter  if  it  is  as  well  written. 
This  is  absolutely  true,  and  the  printer  who  keeps  his 
eyes  open  will  find  numerous  instances  that  he  can  cite 
to  the  customer  to  demonstrate  it. 

A  few  years  ago  I  knew  a  clever  man  who  acquired 
a  patent  in  the  manufacture  of  wall  decorations.  It  was 
a  good  thing,  both  as  to  looks  and  cost.  He  established 
a  large  plant,  got  out  a  great  line  of  samples,  and 
photographed  them,  but  proceeded  to  issue  some  of  the 
meanest  and  cheapest  printed  advertising  matter  that  I 
ever  saw.  His  goods  were  fine,  but  his  printing  was 
vile,  and  no  one  who  judged  of  the  goods  by  the 
blurred  and  spotted  half-tone  illustrations  on  cheap  paper 
ever  wanted  anything  of  the  sort  used  in  decorating  his 
premises.  If  ever  there  was  a  business  that  demanded 
high-class  printing  to  advertise  it,  this  was  one.  The 
failure  to  appreciate  this  fact  closed  up  the  factory  and 
bankrupted  the  proprietor,  who  was  in  most  things  a 
clear-headed  and  capable  man.  Had  he  early  in  his 
career  run  against  a  printer  who  had  talked  to  him 
with  sledge-hammer  arguments  about  his  need  of  the 
very  best  work,  the  wall  decoration  business  might 
have  been  saved,  and  a  good  customer  preserved  to  the 
trade.  The  last  time  I  saw  the  name  of  this  unfortunate 
concern  in  print,  it  was  on  a  list  of  firms  that  could 
not  pay  their  bills,  and  all  for  want  of  a  right  use  of 
printers'  ink. 

Is  it  not  true  that  the  largest  and  most  successful 
printeries  command   the  highest  prices  for  their  work  ? 


HOW   TO   TALK   TO   CUSTOMERS.  77 

Is  not  this  apparent  in  every  large  town  and  city  ?  Is 
not  this  evidence  of  the  fact  that  the  best  class  of  cus- 
tom demands  quality  rather  than  low  price,  and  that 
this  is  the  line  of  talk  to  follow  up  to  secure  the  best 
trade?  These  questions  seem  to  me  so  self-evidently 
calling  for  affirmative  replies  as  not  to  require  answer 
here.  They  are  only  thrown  in  by  way  of  emphasis, 
to  clinch  the  nail  of  argument,  that  I  hope  is  fastened 
in  the  mind  of  any  doubting  printer  who  has  hereto- 
fore omitted  talking  to  his  customers,  or  talked  only  to 
cheapen  work.  If  there  are  business  men  continually 
looking  for  cheap  printing,  it  is  largely  the  fault  of  the 
printers  themselves  who  have  allowed  them  to  develop 
such  ideas  by  their  failure  to  drum  into  them  the  cor- 
rect arguments. 

Few  things  require  more  tact  than  talking  to  custom- 
ers. You  must  lead  them  without  seeming  to  do  so  ; 
you  must  take  them  as  they  come,  size  them  up,  and 
talk  to  each  according  to  his  character  and  intelligence. 
It  requires  very  different  lines  of  talk  to  affect  a  base- 
ball sport  and  a  properous  merchant  ;  a  clergyman  and 
a^awyer  ;  a  liquor  dealer  and  a  pedagogue.  Each  must 
be  guided  by  different  methods,  and  occasionally  some 
cannot  be  guided  at  all,  but  resent  all  hints  and  sug- 
gestions. In  sizing  up  a  new  customer  it  is  best  to  let 
him  talk  first,  and  say  about  all  he  has  to  say,  that  you 
may  learn  just  what  he  wants.  Then  try  to  shape  your 
talk  so  as  to  give  him  something  that  will  help  along 
the  object  that  he  desires  to  attain.  Sometimes  this 
requires  considerable  finesse,  but  a  bright  printer  who 
makes  a  study  of  customers  will  soon  find  that  it  be- 
comes very  easy  to  lead  them  along  to  the  better  class 
of  work. 


78  HOW    TO   TALK    TO   CUSTOMERS. 

It  does  not  do  to  be  insisting  or  over-positive  with 
customers  ;  beware  of  combating  them.  Only  the  man 
of  superior  intelligence  can  bear  to  be  combated  and 
overruled.  And  when  you  do  it  with  him,  be  very  sure 
that  you  are  right  before  you  go  ahead,  for  if  you 
combat  him,  and  he  proves  you  wrong,  it  will  require 
a  long  course  of  good  conduct  on  your  part  to  recover 
a  position  where  he  will  pay  any  attention  to  arguments 
of  yours.  But  if  you  have  a  stand-up  argument  with 
a  very  brainy  man,  and  best  him,  you  can  often  have 
it  all  your  own  way  afterwards  in  directing  his  print- 
ing. He  sees  that  you  know  your  business,  and  are 
disposed  to  help  your  trade  by  assisting  in  making  his 
schemes  profitable,  and  he  will  be  very  apt  to  tie  up 
to  you.  Cultivate  your  gift  for  talk,  and  it  will  pay  you 
better  returns  than  all  the  gifts  of  brass-rule  twisting  or 
manipulating  of  fancy  borders  to  which  some  aspire. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  COST   OF   PRODUCING   PRINTING. 

Few  matters  are  of  as  great  importance  in  bringing 
success  to  the  printing  office  as  the  making  of  prices. 
If  they  are  too  high,  custom  is  driven  away — if  too 
low.  there  are  no  profits.  Either  extreme  is  disastrous, 
and  it  requires  a  strong  hand  and  a  clear  head  to  steer 
the  craft  between  this  Scylla  and  Charybdis  into  pros- 
perous seas.  I  believe  that  more  printers  fail  through 
making  prices  too  low  than  through  making  them  too 
high  ;  and  there  are  thousands  of  printers  who  work 
too  cheaply  just  because  they  have  never  learned  how 
to  charge.  They  are  so  afraid  of  losing  work  by  over- 
charging that  they  are  constantly  doing  jobs  at  cost,  a 
practice  that  is  wholly  indefensible.  In  order  to  charge 
properly,  a  printer  must  know  exactly  what  it  costs  to 
produce  work. 

The  trouble  with  most  printers  who  estimate  incor- 
rectly is  that  they  do  not  know  just  what  it  costs  them 
to  turn  out  their  work  ;  they  guess  at  many  items  and 
forget  and  omit  others.  If  the  paper  for  a  job  costs 
$1,  and  it  requires  the  time  of  the  compositor  and 
pressman  to  the  amount  of  $3,  and  a  price  of  $8  is 
given  the  customer,  should  the  customer  object  and 
demand  it  at  $7,  many  printers  accede  to  the  demand, 
thinking  that  anything  above  $5  is  profit  any  way. 
The  truth  is  that  such  a  job  usually  costs  the  printer 
every  cent  of  the  $8  to  get  out,  and  may  often  cost 
more,  as  the  indirect   expenses   mount   up  so  rapidly. 


8o  THE   COST   OF   PRODUCING   PRINTING. 

A  writer  in  the  Typothetce  and  Platemaker,  for  Septem- 
ber, 1898,  contends  that  it  is  necessary  to  add  113  per 
cent,  to  the  compositor's  time  to  gel  at  the  actual  cost 
(not  selling  price,  but  cost),  of  work  in  the  composing- 
room,  and  I  believe  that  most  printers  who  have  been 
into  this  subject  deeply  will  agree  with  me  that  the 
proper  percentage  is  over  100. 

In  large  oifices  the  minor  expenses  are  generally 
known,  but  in  smaller  offices  they  are  only  too  often 
guessed  at,  with  the  result  that  the  proprietor  who 
may  think  he  is  getting  fair  prices  discovers  after  a 
few  years  that  he  is  making  only  wages,  and  perhaps 
wearing  out  his  material  without  accumulating  the 
money  to  replace  it. 

Whether  an  office  is  large  or  small  the  general 
expense  can  be  arrived  at,  and  should  be  added  to 
the  cost  of  labor  in  estimating  on  the  job.  I  would 
figure  about  in  this  way  : 

SMALL   COUNTRY    OFFICE. 

Platen    Press   Department,  [employing  a   quarto  and  a   half-medium 
jobber  : 

One-third  of  yearly  rent  and  half  power,  .       $125 
One-third  cost  advertising,       ...  40 
Interest,  6  per  cent,  on  $500  investment,    .  30 
Depreciation,  8  per  cent,  on  $500  invest- 
ment,         40 

One-third  insurance,  light,  heat,  unpro- 
ductive labor,  accidents,  errors  and 
all  incidentals,  .         .  .  150 


Ink,  oil,  benzine  and  repairs, 

Share  office  expenses, 

Part  time  proprietor. 

One-third  wages  foreman, 

Wages  2  feeders,  225  days  in  year, 


75 
100 
250 
250 
450 


Total,  .         .         .         .    $1,510 

Although  22^  working  days  of  the  feeders  are  fig- 
ured here,  the  product  in  such  a  small  plant  cannot  be 


THE   COST   OF   PRODUCING   PRINTING.  8 1 

expected  to  exceed  200  working  days,  so  the  boys  will 
have  to  be  maintained  in  ttie  office  at  times  when 
th^re  is  no  real  work  for  them.  With  a  200  days' 
production  at  a  cost  of  $1,500,  we  find  that  the  cost  of 
running  these  two  job  presses  is  $7.50  per  day,  or  say 
$4.25  for  the  half-medium,  and  $3.2^  for  the  quarto, 
if  the  presses  stood  idle  the  whole  year  round,  but  in 
a  condition  of  expecting  work,  this  list  of  expenses 
could  be  cut  to  only  about  $800,  or  about  $2.67  a  day, 
estimating  that  there  are  300  days  a  year  on  which 
they  might  be  productive.  This  means  that  the  idle 
time  of  the  half-medium  costs  $1.50  per  day  and  the 
quarto  $1.17  a  day.  Few  printers  appreciate  this  ac/~ 
ual  cost  of  idle  time  of  a  press,  because  they  do  not 
realize  that  while  these  presses  are  idle  they  are  main- 
taining a  continual  system  of  expense  to  keep  them  in 
readiness  to  produce  work  when  it  is  wanted.  A  man 
might  keep  these  two  presses  in  a  barn  for  a  year  at 
a  cost  of  less  than  $100,  but  when  he  keeps  them  in  a 
printing  office,  ready  for  work,  he  will  find  that  the 
actual  cost  is  about  what  is  here  stated,  varying  a  little 
according  to  conditions.  In  estimating  on  a  job  of 
work  for  such  a  platen  press  department,  it  may  be 
fairly  calculated  that  such  presses  can  each  turn  out  a 
job  of  5,000  impressions,  including  make-ready  and 
minor  delays,  in  a  day.  To  get  at  the  proper  price  to 
charge  the  customer  for  a  job  of  5,000  impressions  on 
the  half-medium,  one  must  figure  about  like  this  : 


Actual  time  of  press  costs,     . 

$1.50 

Margin  for  idle  time  of  press, 

•75 

Time  of  feeder  costs,     . 

1.00 

Time  of  foreman  costs, 

•75 

Ink  and  waste,     .... 

.25 

Profit, 

•75 

Total,  .         $5.00 


82  THE  COST   OF   PRODUCING   PRINTING. 

Very  many  printers  would  forget  to  make  the  second 
charge,  yet  it  must  not  be  overlooked,  because  in  the 
natural  course  of  events  that  press  will  stand  idle  one- 
third  of  the  working  days  in  a  year,  at  a  cost  of  $1.50 
a  day,  and  this  must  be  charged  up  to  the  paying 
work,  or  it  will  be  lost.  The  actual  cost  of  domg  that 
5,000  impressions  under  the  conditions  given  is  cer- 
tainly $4.25,  and  this  cost  cannot  be  reduced  except 
by  increasing  the  product.  If  a  printer  is  given  a 
year's  steady  work  (300  days)  for  such  a  press  he  can 
iifford  to  run  it  for  $4.25  a  day,  but  all  transient  work 
should  command  at  least  $5  a  day  under  such  circum- 
stances. The  smaller  press  should  command  $4  or 
more  a  day  under  similar  conditions.  Then,  if  the  two 
job  presses  in  this  department  bring  in  $9  a  day  for  200 
days  in  the  year,  that  is  $1,800  ;  this  leaves  the  pro- 
prietor with  expenses  of  $1,510,  a  profit  of  $290  a  year 
on  his  platen  press  department,  besides  a  salary  of  $250 
for  what  personal  attention  he  has  given  to  it. 

Cylinder  Press  Department,  employing  a  2-roller  j;)b  and  news 
press  : 

One-third  of  yearly  rent  and  half  power,  $125 

One-third  cost  advertising,     ...  40 

Interest,  6  per  cent,  on  $1,200  investment  72 

Depreciation,  8  per  cent,  on  $1,200,       .  96 
•     One-third  insurance,  light,  heat,  unpro- 
ductive  labor,  accidents,  errors   and 

all  incidentals,          .         .         .         .  150 

Ink,  oil,  benzine  and  repairs,         .         .  75 

Share  office  expenses,                .         .         .  100 

Part  time  proprietor,        ...         .         .  250 

One-third  wages  foreman,        .         .  250 
Wages,  !  feeder,  22s  days  in  the  year,     .225 

Total,  ....   $1,383 

If  this  press  is  used  200  days  in  the  year  it  will 
cost  $7  a  day  to  run  it,  and  $8  a  day  is  the  limit  of 
price    below   which   no   charge   should    be   considered. 


THE   COST   OF   PRODUCING   PRINTING.  83 

Such  a  press  in  a  country  office  can  usually  produce 
about  7,000  impressions  during  a  day,  or  5,000  impres- 
sions including  make-ready  on  one  job.  If  the  produc- 
tion were  but  4,000  a  day,  which  is  as  much  as  can  be 
obtained  in  many  offices,  the  prices  would  necessarily 
require  to  be  increased.  About  $2  for  ordinary  make- 
ready,  and  $1.20  per  1,000  impressions  is  therefore  the 
Jowest  price  the  printer  can  afford  to  make  for  the 
work  of  such  a  machine,  producing  5,000  impressions 
per  day.  This  will  yield  him  $1,600  for  200  days,  or 
a  profit  of  $217  and  a  salary  of  $250  for  the  personal 
attention  he  has  given  the  department.  It  is  obvious 
that  if  he  cannot  average  this  output  for  200  days  in  the 
year  he  must  charge  more  for  his  work.  If  the  cylin- 
der is  busy  only  100  days  in  the  year,  a  condition 
very  common  in  country  offices,  he  can  take  off  his 
estimate  of  yearly  cost  $112  for  feeder's  wages,  $100  of 
the  foreman's  wages,  and  about  $188  from  other  items, 
$400  in  ail ;  leaving  an  annual  cost  of  the  cylinder  press 
department  as  $988,  or  $9.88  for  each  of  the  100  days. 
He  must  then  charge  $12  per  day  for  the  use  of  his 
cylinder  press,  which  will  yield  him  $212  annual  profit 
for  the  department  instead  of  $217. 


Composing-room  Department  : 

One-third  of  yearly  rent, 

$50 

One-third  cost  advertising,     . 

40 

Interest,  6  per  cent,  on  $1,500, 

90 

Depreciation,  15  per  cent,  on  $1,500,     . 

225 

One-third  insurance,  light,  heat,  unpro- 

ductive labor,  accidents,  errors   and 

all  incidentals,          .... 

150 

Share  office  expenses,     .... 

200 

Part  time  proprietor,      .... 

500 

One-third  wages  foreman, 

250 

Proof-reading, 

250 

Wages,  I  man  and'  2  boys,  compositors, 

300  days,                          .         . 

l,200 

Total,       ....      $2,955 


84  THE   COST   OF   PRODUCING   PRINTING. 

If  kept  on  plain  composition  the  three  compositors 
may  be  expected  to  turn  out  15,000  ems  per  day,  which 
costs  the  office  6j  cents  per  thousand  to  produce. 
Country  printers  who  have  been  in  the  habit  of  doing 
composition  for  50  and  60  cents  per  thousand,  will 
please  go  over  these  figures  a  few  times  and  see  ii 
they  are  not  correct.  If  there  is  a  large  amount  of 
composition,  so  that  the  proprietor  can  afford  to  put 
on  say — two  extra  compositors,  without  increasing  his 
general  expenses,  he  may  bring  the  cost  down  to  60 
cents,  but  with  the  normal  force  of  compositors  given 
above,  the  cost  of  the  composing-room  is  $10  a  day, 
and  that,  too,  on  the  favorable  assumption  that  there 
are  300  days  in  the  year  when  full  work  can  be  given 
the  compositors.  As  in  an  office  of  this  sort  there  is 
usually  a  newspaper  or  some  work  giving'  steady  em- 
ployment to  the  compositors,  it  is  not  necessary  to 
place  the  work  on  the  200  days  basis,  as  in  the  press 
departments.  If  the  proprietor  charges  65  cents  an  hour 
for  the  man  compositor,  during  the  seven  hours  a  day 
that  he  will  be  on  composition,  and  55  cents  an  hour 
for  the  boys,  on  the  same  basis,  that  is  $12.25  P^^"  d^y» 
this  allows  a  profit  of  $2.25  per  day  for  300  days  or 
$675  per  year. 

According  to  the  above  estimate,  the  proprietor  of 
this  country  office  will  be  earning  as  follows  : 

Salary.         Profit. 

From  platen  press  department,  $250        $290 

From  cylinder  press  department,  250  217 

From  composing-room,  500  675 

Totals,      .        .        $1,000     $1,182 

Will  any  one  contend  that  $2,182  a  year  is  more 
than  a  fair  salary  and.  profit  for  a  man  who  has  the 
ability  to  run   such  a    plant   properly,  and   has   $3,200 


THE   COST   OF   PRODUCING    PRINTING.  8^ 

invested  in  material,  and  perhaps  $2,000  to  $3,000  more 
in  good  will,  and  who  has  to  take  all  the  risks  of  dull 
times,  bad  debts,  and  a  hundred  and  one  other  things 
that  may  interfere  with  his  success?  1  trust  that  this 
estimate  will  set  many  a  country  printer  to  applying 
the  method  to  his  own  case,  that  he  may  know  just 
what  it  costs  him  to  produce  his  work. 

Suppose  we  now  take  an  office  a  grade  higher, 
iind  calculate  about  what  must  be  charged  to  yield  a 
fair  profit. 

A   $7,400  SMALL   CITY   OFFICE. 
Platen  press  department,  employing  four  job  presses  : 

One-third  rent  and  half  power,        .  $200 
One-third  cost  advertising,      ...  60 
Interest,  6  per  cent,  on  $900  investment,  54 
Depreciation,  8  per  cent,  on  ^00  invest- 
ment   72 

Share  of  insurance,   light,    heat,   unpro- 
ductive  labor,  accidents,  errors   and 

all  incidentals,          ....  250 

Ink,  oil.  benzine  and  repairs,            .         .  150 

Share  oifice  expenses,             .         .         .  200 

Part  time  proprietor,      ....  375 

Wages,  pressman  in  charge,  300  days,  750 

Wages,  3  feeders,  225  days,            .  1,000 


Total,        ,        .        .        .     $3,111 

The  expenses  of  this  department  are  a  trifle  more 
than  double  that  of  the  country  plant,  and  having  a 
little  higher-priced  help  and  better  facilities,  they  should 
turn  out  a  little  more  than  double  the  amount  of  work. 
If  the  presses  are  a  half-medium,  two  quartos  and  an 
eighth,  the  cost  of  operating  them  may  be  fairly  di- 
vided as  follows  :  Half-medium,  $4.75  per  day  ;  quartos, 
$3.75  each  ;  eighth,  $^.2'y — a  total  of  $15.50  per  day. 
According  to  previous  calculations,  the  country  office 
has  to  charge  the  customer  $1  a  thousand  impressions 
on   the   half-medium   and   80  cents    on    the  quarto,  in 


86  THE   COST   OF    PRODUCING    PRINTING. 

runs  of  five  thousand  impressions.  The  small  city  of- 
fice, with  the  whole  time  of  a  pressman  in  charge, 
should  get  22,000  impressions  a  day,  including  make- 
readies,  out  of  the  four  platen  presses,  when  running 
with  full  work,  as  they  should  be  for  200  days  in  the 
year.  If  the  prices  charged  are  then  $1  per  one  thou- 
sand impressions  on  the  half,  80  cents  on  the  two 
quartos,  and  60  cents  on  the  eighth,  the  yield  is  $17.60 
per  day,  or  $^,520  for  the  year  of  200  full  working 
days,  leaving  a  profit  of  $409  for  the  department. 

Cylinder  press  department,  employing  a  24x36  press,  worth   $1,200^ 
and  a  34x52  press,  worth  $2,300. 

One-third  rent  and  half  power,               .  $200 
One-third  cost  advertising,     ...  60 
Interest,   6   per   cent,   on  $3,500  invest- 
ment,     .  210 
Depreciation,  8  per  cent,   on  $3,500  in- 
vestment,           280 

Share    of  insurance,   light,   heat,   unpro- 
ductive labor,  accidents,  errors   and 

all  incidentals,          ....  400 

Ink,  oil,  benzine  and  repairs,           .         .  250 

Share  office  expenses,     ....  500 

Part  time  proprietor,                                 .  375 

Wages,  pressman  and  2  feeders,  225  days,  '|I25 


Total,        ....     $3,400 

This  cost  is  considerably  more  than  double  that  of 
the  one-cylinder  department  of  the  country  office,  but, 
as  the  presses  are  of  a  better  class,  a  product  more 
than  double  in  quantity,  and  much  superior  in  quality, 
may  be  calculated  upon.  It  is  apparent  that  these 
presses  cost  about  $2,025  a  year  for  their  keep  alone, 
and  if  they  are  busy  225  days  in  the  year,  that  is  $9 
a  day  (or  say  $3.50  for  the  small  press  and  $5.50  for 
the  large  press)  of  actual  cost,  which  should  be  added 
to  the  labor  cost  on  all  jobs  run  on  the  presses  to  as- 
certain   the   total   cost   of    production.      For   a    job   of 


THE   COST   OF   PRODUCING   PRINTING.  87 

12,000  tmpressions,  that  can  be  made  ready  and  run 
off  complete  on  the  large  cylinder  within  two  days* 
time,  the  proper  estimate  should  be  about  as  follows  : 

Time  of  press,  2  days,  ....  $11.00* 

Time  of  feeder  costs,  .         .         2.50 

Time  of  pressman,  .         .          3.50 
Margin  for  profit,                                               3  00 


Total,  $20.00 

If  the  job  were  a  difficult  one,  requiring  extra  make- 
ready,  slip-sheeting,  or  any  other  special  care,  which 
would  prevent  its  being  surely  completed  within  two 
days'  time,  the  price  should  be  correspondingly  in- 
creased. Figuring  in  this  way  the  large  cylinder  would 
pay  a  profit  of  $1.50  per  day  and  the  small  cylinder  $1 
a  day  for  200  days  in  the  year,  or  a  total  of  $500  for 
the  yearly  profit  of  the  department. 

Composing-room  department,  including  $3,000  worth  of  material  : 


One-third  of  yearly  rent, 

$125 

One-third  cost  advertising, 

60 

Interest,  6   per  cent,  on   $3,000    invest- 

ment,       

180 

Depreciation,  15  per  cent    on  $3,000  in- 

vestment,        .         .         .         . 

450 

Share   insurance,    light,  heat,  unproduc- 

tive labor,  accidents,  errors  and    all 

incidentals, 

^25 

Share  office  expenses,      .... 

500 

Part  time  proprietor,        .... 

750 

Proof-reading, 

Soo 

Wages  foreman, 

900 

Wages  8  compositors,  300  days,      . 

4,800 

Total,     ....         $8,590 

If  such  an  office  could  keep  its  eight  compositors 
busy  290  days  in  the  year,  and  charge  and  collect  60 
cents  an  hour  for  their  seven  hours  a  day  of  productive 
time,  it  could  obtain  receipts  of  $9,744,  showing  a  profit 
of  $1,154  on  the  year's  work  ;  but  as  a  matter  of  fact 
the  manager   of  such  a   composing-room  cannot   hope 


♦The  idle  time  is  included  in  this. 


88  THE   COST   OF   PRODUCING   PRINTING. 

to  keep  his  full  force  of  men  active  for  290  days  each 
year,  hence  in  actual  practice  he  would  lose  money  in 
selling  the  time  of  employees  at  60  cents  an  hour.  It 
has  therefore  become  the  practice  to  charge  also  for 
the  unproductive  time  of  the  men.  If  the  time  of  com- 
position on  a  job  is  100  hours,  many  offices  will  add 
10  hours  for  proof-reading,  and  25  hours  for  distribu- 
tion, making  135  hours.  In  this  way  a  profit  is  secured 
without  charging  the  customer  a  rate  per  hour  that 
seems  to  him  exhorbitant.  Figuring  the  time  on  this 
increased  basis  such  a  composing-room  can  employ  its 
complement  of  eight  men  only  250  days  in  the  year, 
and  yet  show  a  profit  of  $1,000.  Perhaps  $750  a  year 
is  what  a  proprietor  might  fairly  hope  to  make  from 
such  a  composing-room.  It  should  be  noted  here  that 
few  composing-rooms  can  expect  to  keep  eight  hand 
compositors  employed  with  only  $3,000  of  material,  as 
standing  forms  and  varied  work  cause  increased  invest- 
ment in  type.  This  is  one  reason  why  so  few  com- 
posing-rooms can  show  a  profit. 

Some  may  criticise  the  entry  of  $300  for  proof-reading 
in  this  composing-room  as  being  too  low,  but  it  should 
be  remembered  that  the  proprietor  is  allowed  $750  sal- 
ary for  his  own  time  here,  which  is  assumed  to  include 
some  of  the  reading.  According  to  my  figuring  this 
$7,400  office  ought  to  yield  its  proprietor  total  results 
as  follows  : 

Salary.  Profit. 


From    platen    press  depart- 

ment, 

$375 

$409 

From  cylinder  press  depart- 

ment, 

375 

500 

From   composing-room,     . 

750 

750 

From  business   office, 

500 

Total,  .        '.     $2,000  $1,659 


THE   COST   OF   PRODUCING    PRINTING.  89 

The  above  is  what  it  ought  to  yield  if  rightly  con- 
ducted, with  proper  charges,  and  "I  am  only  too  sorry 
that  I  cannot  add  an  expression  of  belief  that  the  average 
office  of  this  size  does  yield  such  returns.  That  it  ought 
to  pay  this  much  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  few 
men  would  be  induced  to  invest  a  total  of  $10,000 
(including  good  will  value)  in  a  printing  house,  without 
a  reasonable  certainty  of  getting  a  15  per  cent,  return 
above  salary  in  good  years,  to  offset  the  risks  of  loss 
in  bad  times.  Such  being  the  case,  estimates  should 
all  be  based  on  the  expectation  of  making  such  a  profit 
at  least. 

In  the  calculations  thus  far,  nothing  has  been  said 
about  charges  for  composition  where  machines  are  used. 
1  am  one  of  those  who  believe  that  the  printer  who 
buys  high-priced  composing  machines  is  entitled  to  the 
extra  profit  that  these  will  earn  him,  and  that  on  putting 
in  such  machinery  he  should  maintain  his  prices  and 
not  proceed  to  chop  the  prices  down  to  almost  cost. 
Various  records  kept  by  printing  houses  in  the  large 
cities  show  that  after  the  compositor  has  been  paid  his 
piece  rate  on  composition,  there  still  remains  to  the 
office  a  cost  of  about  27  cents  per  1,000  ems  to  cover 
proof-reading,  make-up,  and  its  share  of  general  expense. 
Let  the  estimator  recollect  that  this  27  cents  of  cost 
cannot  be  much  reduced  in  a  country  office,  and  that 
it  adheres  just  the  same  when  composing  machines  are 
used  as  when  the  type  is  set  by  hand.  To  get  at 
the  cost  of  composition  by  machine,  it  is  first  necessary 
to  take  the  wages  item,  then  add  the  interest,  depreci- 
ation, and  minor  cost  of  running  the  machines,  and  then 
to  add  this  27  cents  for  other  expenses. 

The   printer  who  wishes   to  make  correct  estimates 


90  THE   COST   OF   PRODUCING   PRINTING. 

must  remember  that  there  are  seven  general  items  of 
cost :  composition,  presswork,  paper  stock,  plates,  bind- 
ing, delivery,  and  general  expense.  Each  of  these  items 
may  be  subdivided.  Composition  includes  type-setting, 
proof-reading,  correcting,  making-up  and  distribution. 
Presswork  includes  the  time  of  the  press,  the  labor 
cost,  ink,  oil,  rollers,  drying  and  handling  of  sheets. 
Paper  includes  all  paper  and  card-stock,  v^ith  an  addi- 
tion for  waste  and  a  charge  for  handling  and  cutting. 
It  is  proper  to  charge  customers  an  advance  of  ten  per 
cent,  or  more  on  the  price  of  paper  stock.  Plates 
should  include  all  electrotyping  and  stereotyping,  en- 
graving or  other  charges  connected  with  illustrations  or 
electrotype  plates.  The  binding  includes  all  folding, 
gathering,  collating  and  stitching,  besides  putting  on 
covers,  if  any.  Ruling  is  also  usually  figured  in  with 
the  binding.  Delivery  includes  packing,  porterage,  cart- 
age and  expressage.  General  expense  includes  rent, 
power,  heat,  light,  water,  telephone,  clerks,  superin- 
tendents, and  office  help,  solicitors,  taxes,  elevator, 
interest  on  capital,  salary  of  proprietor,  depreciation, 
advertising,  charity,  insurance,  bad  debts,  spoilage,  post- 
age, repairs,  collecting,  stationery,  towels  and  cleaninf , 
and  all  other  minor  items.  In  a  large  office  these  general 
expenses  are  pretty  accurately  known,  and  should  be 
divided  fairly  between  the  departments.  For  instance, 
it  is  manifestly  wrong  to  charge  a  portion  of  the  power 
to  a  composing-room  where  no  power  is  used.  Each 
department  of  the  business  should  carry  that  portion  of 
the  general  expense  that  assists  in  supporting  it,  in 
proportion  to  the  amount  of  money  invested  in  that 
department.  Rent  may  properly  be  divided  according 
to   the   floor  space   of    the   departments.      Depreciation 


THE   COST    OF    PRODUCING    PRINTING.  9 1 

must  be  calculated  by  experience.  The  type  and  presses 
which  were  new  yesterday  are  second-hand  to-morrow, 
and  would  bring  only  half  price  at  a  forced  sale. 

It  is  the  practice  of  many  printers  to  charge  25  per 
cent,  of  type  value  to  depreciation  the  first  year,  and 
15  per  cent,  thereafter.  It  ought  rather  to  be  35,  25, 
20,  and  then  15  per  cent,  a  year  as  long  as  it  lasts. 
This  is  easily  proven.  It  is  fair  to  assume  that  the 
average  life  of  type  is  six  years,  and  that  at  the  end 
of  that  time,  if  it  has  seen  good  service,  it  should  go 
back  to  the  foundry.  $100  put  out  at  interest  for  six 
years  at  six  per  cent,  will  yield  about  $142.  If  the 
same  $100  is  invested  in  type,  and  we  charge  off  $35, 
$25,  $20,  $15,  $15,  $15,  we  have  $125,  to  which  we 
may  add  $17  as  the  value  of  the  old  metal  remaining, 
thus  securing  $142  for  the  original  $100  invested.  In 
preceding  tables  I  have  figured  interest  and  depreciation 
in  composing-room  at  6  and  15  per  cent,  respectively, 
or  a  total  of  21  per  cent,  which  in  six  years  yields 
126,  as  against  125,  the  actual  value  loss  in  six   years. 

We  can  get  at  depreciation  on  presses  in  much  the 
same  way.  Money  doubles  at  interest  in  about  thirteen 
years.  In  13  years  a  new  press  becomes  two-thirds 
worn  out,  and  so  antiquated  that  the  live  printer  usually 
sells  it  and  buys  an  up-to-date  machine  in  its  place. 
Suppose  a  cylinder  be  bought  for  $2,000.  It  can  be  sold 
after  thirteen  years  for  about  $400.  The  $2,000  would 
be  $4,000  at  interest,  therefore  we  have  $3,600  to  mark 
off  in  depreciation  and  interest  in  that  13  years.  That 
means  $500  the  first  year,  then  $400,  $350,  $300  for 
the  next  three  years,  $250  for  the  next  year,  and  then 
$200  a  year  for  the  balance  of  the  thirteen  years.  In 
previous  tables  I  have  figured   interest  and  depreciation 


()2  THE   COST   OF   PRODUCING    PRINTING. 

in  the  press-room  at  6  and  8  per  cent,  respectively,  or 
a  total  of  14  per  cent.,  which  seems  to  me  to  fairly 
represent  the  average  depreciation  in  a  press-room  which 
is  kept  up  by  the  occasional  introduction  of  new  ma- 
chinery. 

If  the  printer  in  estimating  will  always  bear  in  mind 
that  his  miscellaneous  items  of  expense  are  at  least 
double  the  labor  cost,  and  that  he  has  to  earn  14  per 
cent,  on  his  machinery  and  21  per  cent,  on  his  type  to 
come  out  even,  and  that  profit  must  be  charged  on  top 
of  these  things — if  he  will  always  remember  these,  he 
is  not  likely  to  commit  the  common  error  of  doing  work 
at  cost  or  below  cost,  or  to  find  out  after  a  few  years 
that  he  has  no  money  with  which  to  replace  his  fast 
depreciating  material. 

If  he  will  also  bear  in  mind  that  a  journeyman's  wage 
is  about  30  cents  an  hour,  to  which  must  be  added 
another  30  cents  for  general  expenses,  and  30  cents  more 
for  interest,  depreciation  and  profit,  a  total  of  90  cents 
for  every  hour  of  productive  labor;  that  of  a  good 
cylinder  press  with  the  usual  help  $1.50  an  hour,  and  a 
job  press  (half-medium  with  help)  about  $1  an  hour, 
this  will  serve  as  a  convenient  method  of  proving  the 
correctness  of  his  estimates  when  they  become  complex. 
In  order  that  the  printer  may  be  able  to  know  just 
what  his  general  expenses  are,  and  how  best  to  divide 
them  and  charge  to  the  several  departments,  I  have 
appended  here  some  tables  taken  from  a  report  of  a 
committee  of  the  Cincinnati  Typothetse  on  "The  Cost 
of  Printing.  "  With  a  little  pains  any  printer  can  adapt 
these  to  his  own  establishment.  This  is  very  important, 
for  unless  the  printer  knows  just  what  general  ex- 
penses belong  to  each  department  of  his  business,  how 


THE  COST   OF   PRODUCING   PRINTING. 


93 


can  he  know  just  what  it  is  costing  him  to  turn   out 
his  work  ? 


GENERAL    EXPENSES   OF   A    $65,000   PRINTING    PLANT. 


Rekt — $2,400 — 

Cellar:    Vault  for  storage 

of  Plates  (charged  to 

Press-room),     .     .     . 

$1835 

Boiler   and    Engine 

(charged  to  Power  and 

Heat), 

30  65 

Storage    of     Paper 

(charged     to     Press- 

room),     

191     GO 

$240  00 

First  floor— Press-room,      . 

. 

500  00 

Second  floor — 

Counting-room,    .     . 

09  75 

Bindery,      .... 

85  75 

Press-room,      .     .     . 

304  50 

460  00 

Third  floor — Bindery,     .     . 

400  00 

Fourth  floor— Bindery  ,     . 

. 

400  00 

Fifth  floor — Composing-.room.     .     . 

400  00 

$2,400  00 
Distribution  of  same — 

Press-room,    . $1,013  85 


Bindery,    . 
Composing-rovjm, 

*Counting-room, 
*Power  and  Heat, 


885  75 

400  00  $2,299  60 

69  75 
30  65 


hiSURANCE — $890 .  30 — 

Composing-room — type, 
Press-room — stock, 
Press-room — machinery, 
Bindery — stock. 
Bindery — machinery,    . 
*Power  and  Heat — engine 


$6,200 

14,560 

800 

7,280 

1,960 


$0,760 

8,080 
1,960 


$2,400  00 

$237  40 

440  10 

171   25 
41  55 


848  7= 


p,ooo  $890  30 


♦  Included  under  those  heads  further  along. 


94  THE   COST   OF   PRODUCING   PRINTING. 

Taxes— $325.75 — 

Press-room,      .     .  $4,875  .      .          ...  $131  93 

Composing-room,     2,500 67  66 

Bindery,      .     .     .     2,625 7'  04 

Paper — stock,  1,937  (charged  to  Press-room)  52  40        $32303 

*Counting-room,  100 2  70 

$12,037  $325  73 

Interest  on  Capital  Invested — 
Press-room,    $24,825    at    6    per 

cent $1,489  50 

Press-room — paper  stock,  $7,885 

at  6  per  cent 473   10 

Press-room  —  unfinished     work, 

$840  at  6  per  cent.        ...  50  40  $2,013  00 

Bindery,  $1 3,980.65  at  6  per  cent.  838  84 

Bindery — stock  $1 ,000.50  at  6  per 

cent 60  03 

Bindery — unfinished  work,  $1,021 

at  6  per  cent 61   26         960   13 

Composing-room,   $11,521.45    at 

6  per  cent 691   29 

Composing-room — unfinished 

work,  $996  at  6  per  cent.    .     .  59  76         751  05   $3,724   j8 

*Power  and  Heat,  $3,741  at  6  per  cent.     .     .  224  46 

*  Water   Fixtures,  $250   at   6   per  cent.     .     ,  15  00 

*Gas  Fixtures,  $250  at  6  per  cent      ....  1 5  00 

*Counting-room,  $467    at    6  per  cent.     .     .  28  02 

$4,006  66 
Water — 

Interest  on  Fixtures, $15  00      ' 

Water  Rent — Employees, 30  00        $45  00 

*Water  Rent — Boilers  (charged  to  Power  and 

Heat), 36  30 

*Water  Rent — Elevator, 15111 

$232  41 
Light — 

Interest  on  Fixtures, $15  00 

Gas  consumption — Bindery, 128  03 

Gas    consumption  —  Composing-room,     .     .  42  67 

Gas  consumption — Press-room,  .        $256  04 

Electric   Light — Press-room,        .          263  54  519  58      $70';  28 

•  Included  unfier  those  heads  further  along. 


THH   COST   OF   PRODUCING   PRINTING.  95 


Elevator — 


Water-power, $151    ii 

Repairs, 16  70  $187  81       $187  8i 

■Counting-room  and  Gkneral — 

Rent, .....  $69  75 

Interest  (on  Capital  invested)        28  02 

Taxes,        2  70 

Salaries  —  Manager,    $1,560;    Book-keeper, 

$1,144;  Clerk,  $401  ;  Boy,  $137.85,      .     .  3,242  85 

Stationery, 22  50 

Advertising, 743  00 

Telephone, 100  60 

Commercial  Agency, 50  00 

Legal  Expenses, 20  00 

Trade  Journals, 22  06 

Bad  Accounts  (charged   to  Profit  and    Loss),  1,182   ^5 

Interest  and  Liscount,        1,222  81 

Soap  and  Towels, 55  50 

Two  Porters,        782  64 

Interest  on  outstanding  accounts,  $4,750  at  6 

per  cent.      . 285  00 

Petty  Cash  Expenses  (such  as  car-fare,  post- 
age, donations,  Christmas  gifts,  brooms, 
police,    scrubbing,    ice,    drayage,    charity, 

repairs,  plumbing,  etc.),       ,  408  00  $8,237  7^ 


Power  and  Heat —  Divided. 

Total.  Power.              Heat. 

Rent, $30  65  $26  65         $4  00 

Insurance,        4'   55  4'   55 

Interest, 224  46  150  66         73  80 

Water,        36  30  27  30           9  00 

Salary— engineer,       .     .     .  852  38  746  38       106  00 
Fuel — (Bindery, special  heat, 

$100,) 439  50  254  50       185  00 

Repairs — Boiler  and  Engine,  125   10  112  60         12  50 

Oil,        17  25  17  25 

Depreciation — Boiler,    etc., 

$880  at   10  per  cent.      .  88  00  77  00         1 1  00 
Depreciation — Engine ,  shaft  - 

ing,  etc.,  $1,741  at  10 per 

cent '74   'o  J74   10 

Depreciation — Fixtures, 

heating,  $1,120  at  10  per 

cent 11200  ....       11200 

$1,627  99    $513  30      $513  30 
1,627  99 


Total  General  Expense,    .     .     ,     .     $18,512  72 


96 


THE   COST   OF   PRODUCING   PRINTING. 


DISTRIBUTION    TO    DEPARTMENTS. 


Press-room. 

Bindery. 

Comp'g-room 

$2,299  60  Rent,    .     . 

$1,013   85 

$885  75 

$400  00 

$2,299  60 

848  75  Insurance,      . 

440    10 

171  25 

237   40 

848  75 

323  03  Taxes, 

184   33 

71  04 

67  66 

323  03 

3,724   18  Interest,    . 

2,013   00 

960  13 

751    05 

3,724  18 

45  00  Water, 

10  65 

23  20 

11     15 

45  00 

705  28  Light, 

528    58 

132  53 

44  '7 

705  82 

187  81   Elevator,    . 

75   12 

75   «2 

37  57 

187  81 

8,237  78  Counting-roo 

m,   2,865  30 

3,581  66 

1,790  82 

8,237  78 

1,627  99  Power,  .     . 

1,240  32 

387  67 



1,627  99 

513  30  Heat,      .     . 

106  80 

324  50 

82  00 

513  30 

$18,512  72 


J,478  05  $6,612  85  $3,421  82  $18,512  72 


CHAPTER  X. 

ESTIMATING. 

No  portion  of  the  work  of  an  employing  printer 
requires  more  care  than  the  making  of  estimates.  The 
calculations  cannot  be  made  correctly  without  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  cost  of  producing  work  ;  hence,  they  require 
to  be  made  by  a  practical  man,  and  the  more  knowledge 
he  has  of  the  details  of  the  business  the  fewer  mistakes 
he  is  liable  to  make.  Estimating  involves  a  calculation 
(often  a  shrewd  guess)  of  the  time  required  to  perform 
certain  work.  The  estimator  must  be  careful  not  to 
judge  of  the  time  required  by  his  own  performance, 
for  the  chances  are  that  he  is  a  more  than  ordinarily 
fast  workman.  Most  men  who  are  near  the  top  of  the 
business  are  better  and  faster  workmen  than  the  average 
of  those  they  hire.  To  judge  of  the  time  required  on 
a  job  one  must  allow  for  the  average  product  under 
average  conditions.  Something  is  always  occurring  to 
prevent  work  being  turned  out  in  record  time.  It  is  a 
popular  saying  that  a  man  can  set  i,ooo  ems  an  hour, 
but  the  actual  performance  in  book  offices  is  about  5,000 
ems  a  day  per  man.  A  cylinder  or  job  press  can  be 
run  at  a  speed  of  1,500  an  hour,  yet  a  large  office  in 
New  York  city  found  that  its  average  production  in  a 
year  from  all  its  presses  was  but  eleven  tokens  a  day! 
These  things  are  worth  remembering  when  computing 
the  probable  time  on  a  job. 


98  ESTIMATING. 

It  is  best  not  to  estimate  closely  on  small  jobs — say 
under  $20.  It  is  also  best  to  decline  giving  figures  on 
work  that  is  being  hawked  about  among  a  number  of 
offices,  looking  for  a  low  bidder.  Somebody  is  pretty 
sure  to  do  it  for  less  than  it  is  worth,  and  it  is  a  waste  of 
good  time  for  a  printer  who  aims  to  do  good  work  to 
figure  on  cheap  work. 

In  estimating  on  book  work  or  the  like,  it  is  often 
desired  to  know  just  how  much  the  copy  will  make. 
Jn  the  case  of  a  large  job  one  cannot  be  too  careful  to 
avoid  error  here.  When  the  size  of  type,  size  of  page 
.and  leading  have  been  decided,  in  order  to  learn  how 
imany  pages  the  copy  will  make,  count  the  words  in 
.a  number  of  pages  of  the  manuscript  copy,  making  sure 
that  you  select  average  pages.  If  possible  have  a  page 
set  up,  and  be  very  sure  that  it  is  an  average  page. 
One  cannot  be  certain  that  300  words  of  manuscript 
selected  at  one  point  in  the  copy  will  equal  the  number 
of  ems  of  500  words  taken  from  another  point.  A 
•variation  of  fully  20  per  cent,  has  been  noted  in  the 
.number  of  ems  occupied  by  500  words,  as  some  sub- 
jects seem  to  require  much  longer  words  than  other 
subjects.  Then  there  is  the  matter  of  breaklines  to  be 
noted,  which  has  so  large  a  bearing  on  the  way  matter 
strings  out.  Having  duly  weighed  all  points,  and  being 
fully  satisfied  what  portion  of  a  printed  page  is  filled 
by  a  page  of  manuscript,  add  a  margin  of  five  per 
•cent,  for  safety,  then  half  a  page  or  more  for  each 
chapter  that  makes  a  break,  which  is  sure  to  be  greater 
in  the  type  than  in  the  manuscript.  Count  each  title, 
dedication,  frontispiece,  etc.,  a  page,  and  add  blank 
pages  to  make  even  forms. 

If  the  copy  is  uneven,  or  on  odd  sizes  of  paper,  or 


ESTIMATING.  99 

is  only  furnished  in  part,  or  contains  a  number  of  illus- 
trations that  are  of  uncertain  size,  always  decline  to 
make  an  exact  estimate  as  to  the  number  of  pages, 
but  make  price  variable,  depending  upon  the  number 
of  pages  it  may  run. 

In  determining  the  required  amount  of  paper  for  a  job, 
first  be  sure  of  your  size,  then  the  weight,  quality  and 
price.  Beginners  sometimes  forget  that  if  i6  pages  go 
on  one  side  of  a  sheet  that  it  is  necessary  to  allow  but 
one  sheet  to  }2  pages,  and  until  a  habit  is  established 
of  regarding  this  simple  point  any  estimator  is  apt  to 
make  a  big  bungle  in  figuring  his  paper  cost  on  a  job. 
Five  per  cent,  should  be  added  for  waste  of  paper  in 
printing,  and  a  charge  of  75  cents  an  hour  is  proper 
for  cutting,  and  50  to  60  cents  an  hour  for  packing 
and  handling.  On  large  lots  of  paper  the  customer 
should  be  charged  an  advance  of  10  per  cent,  over 
the  cost,  and  in  small  lots  a  larger  percentage.  On  paper 
or  card  stock  under  $5  value,  25  per  cent,  advance  is 
not  too  much.  It  is  well  known  that  stationers  com- 
monly charge  50  to  100  per  cent,  on  small  lots.  It  is 
worth  a  larger  margin  because  it  often  takes  as  much 
time  to  buy  $5  worth  of  paper  as  to  buy  $500  worth. 

In  calculating  on  paper  that  has  to  be  cut  from 
larger  sizes,  one  must  bear  in  mind  that  if  the  job  is 
to  be  run  two  or  four  on  a  sheet  that  it  may  not  cut 
as  well,  involving  more  waste.  Sometimes  the  paper 
can  be  got  out  more  economically  by  making  up  a  form 
the  long  way.  If  a  certain  job  cuts  conveniently  nine 
to  a  sheet,  and  several  are  to  be  run  at  once,  it  will 
probably  be  better  to  run  three  at  a  time  than  to  run 
four  and  waste  paper  ;  but  it  may  be  practical  to  secure 
a  larger  size  of  paper  of  the  same  grade  and  run  in  fours. 


lOO  ESTIMATING. 

All  these  things  have  to  be  borne  in  mind  when  making 
the  estimates. 

When  figuring  the  amount  of  composition  on  a  job 
it  is  necessary  to  keep  a  watchful  eye  on  price-and-a- 
half  and  double-price  matter,  and  to  make  the  needed 
extra  charge.  In  judging  of  the  time  required  to  set 
an  unusual  piece  of  work  it  is  well  to  take  the  judgment 
of  another  as  well  as  your  own.  If  a  compositor  thinks 
that  he  can  set  four  pages  a  day  it  commonly  turns 
out  that  he  does  set  but  three,  and  it  is  not  often  safe 
to  figure  on  more  than  that. 

In  determining  a  price  for  presswork  one  may  usu- 
ally take  fixed  charges  for  the  make-ready  of  forms 
of  ordinary  character,  and  for  cut  forms,  half-tones,  etc. 
The  margin  of  time  for  make-ready  should  be  liberal, 
however,  as  the  starting  up  of  a  job  on  a  press  involves 
so  many  chances  for  delay.  The  preceding  job  may 
have  been  such  as  to  involve  a  wash-up  and  change 
of  impression  surface,  or  it  may  be  necessary  to  break 
in  a  new  feeder,  or  a  pressman  unfamiliar  with  the  con- 
veniences of  the  office,  or  there  may  be  delays  because  of 
a  poor  plate,  or  because  an  electrotype  has  not  come  from 
the  foundry.  Things  of  this  sort  are  occurring  all  the 
time  rather  than  occasionally,  and  they  must  be  allowed 
for  in  estimates  if  loss  is  to  be  avoided.  A  set  price  of 
so  much  a  token  or  thousand  may  be  made  for  certain 
different  classes  of  presswork,  after  experience  has  shown 
that  they  are  sufficient  to  yield  a  profit  under  average 
conditions  ;  but  the  printer  should  be  wary  in  making 
a  price  on  uncertainties  in  presswork.  A  new  and 
untried  grade  of  paper  may  present  unsuspected  diffi- 
culties in  the  way  of  peeling,  or  may  require  a  special 
grade   of    ink   involving  much   experimenting.     I   once 


ESTIMATING.  lOI 

knew  a  printer  who  took  a  job  of  i,ooo  posters  on 
cotton  doth  at  double  the  price  of  paper,  thinking  that 
was  a  large  enough  margin.  The  threads  raveling  from 
the  edges  of  the  cloth  were  continually  getting  on  to 
the  rollers,  so  that  the  set  used  were  wholly  spoiled 
iind  the  time  on  the  job  was  about  four  times  what 
he  had  estimated.  Another  printer  who  took  a  job  of 
presswork,  in  red  ink,  at  $2  for  1,000  as  a  "filler,"  was 
iistounded  to  find  that  he  could  not  get  a  decent  effect 
on  the  paper  furnished  with  anything  less  than  ink  which 
cost  him  the  full  $2  per  1,000  impressions  he  was  get- 
ting for  the  job.  I  knew  recently  of  a  three-color  job 
being  taken  by  a  prosperous  city  house  at  what  was 
thought  a  fair  figure,  and  after  two  colors  were  run  it 
was  found  that  the  third  could  not  be  made  to  register 
because  the  form  only  impressed  the  paper  at  three 
distant  points,  and  it  was  impossible  to  get  the  paper 
to  lay  against  the  cylinder  as  closely  as  when  the  first 
two  impressions  were  taken,  therefore  the  register  was 
imperfect.  The  first  printings  had  to  be  thrown  away 
and  the  job  printed  in  single  pages  to  secure  perfect 
register,  involving  a  loss  of  about  $1,000.  This  means 
that  unless  a  printer  is  absolutely  sure  of  what  he  is 
doing  he  should  not  make  a  price  on  fine  wprk  except 
by  the  hour,  or  with  some  emergency  clause  which  will 
save  him  on  occasions  like  those  mentioned.  No  printer 
can  have  familiarity  with  all  classes  of  work,  and  even 
those  who  think  they  have  experience  sometimes  fail 
seriously  in  appreciating  the  cost  of  producing  a  job  that 
has  some  feature  a  little  out  of  the  common. 

1  hesitate  to  name  prices  for  presswork,  but  I  realize 
that  there  are  those  who  will  want  figures  to  assist  them. 
I  do  not  believe  that  it  is  possible  to  make  any  money 


I02  ESTIMATING. 

doing  a  good  grade  of  cylinder  presswork  for  less  than 
$1.50  per  1,000,  and  a  very  large  sheet  or  a  number  of 
fine  illustrations  should  increase  this  minimum  price 
to  $2  per  1,000.  Where  colored  ink  is  used  it  is 
commonly  worth  one-half  more,  and  may  be  worth 
double.  The  peculiarities  of  the  job,  size  of  sheet,  length 
of  run,  etc.,  must  determine  the  exact  figures  in  any 
case. 

In  estimating  on  a  large  number  of  copies  of  a  small 
job,  one  must  usually  figure  in  two  or  three  ways  to 
find  out  how  many  it  is  best  to  run  on  a  sheet.  One 
cannot  be  sure  at  a  glance  whether  a  job  of  a  given 
quantity  can  be  run  most  cheaply  by  setting  up  and 
making  four  plates  or  eight  plates.  Sometimes  it  is 
cheapest  to  set  up  several  and  run  the  whole  thing  from 
type,  and  occasionally  it  is  best  to  run  one  type-form  with 
three  duplicates  in  plates.  To  illustrate,  suppose  we 
have  50,000  copies  of  a  6x9  circular  on  good  paper,  for 
which  fine  printing  is  desired.  It  cost  $1.50  to  set  the 
type,  and  electros  5X8  =  40  inches,  cost  80  cents  each. 

Cost  of  presswork  and  electrotyping  50,000  circulars,  4  on: 

Four  electros, $3  20 

Make-up  and  make-ready,  .  .  .  i  50 
12,800  impressions,  at  $1.00,  .         .       12  80 

Straightening,  cutting  and  packing,         .         6  00 

Total,         .         .         .         .     $23  50 

Cost  of  presswork  and  electrotyping  50,000  circulars,  8  on: 

Eight  electros, $6  40 

Make-up  and  make-ready,  .  .  .  2  00 
6,400  impressions  at  $1.25,  .  .  .  8  00 
Straightening,  cutting  and  packing,  .         4  00 

Total,         ....    $20  40 

Cost  of  presswork  and  electrotyping  50,000  circulars,  16  on: 

Sixteen  electros, $12  80 

Make-up  and  make-ready,  ...  3  00 
3,200  impressions  at  $1.50,  .         .         4  80 

Straightening,  cutting  and  packing,         .         3  00 

Total,        .         .         .         .     $23  60 


ESTIMATING.  lO^ 

The  making  of  eight  electros  is  evidently  the  cheapest; 
but  if  the  order  were  changed  to  100,000  it  would  be 
cheaper  to  run  sixteen  on. 

Another  element  in  figuring  on  work  of  this  character 
is  that  we  now  have  special  presses  on  which  small  jobs 
are  turned  out  from  single  forms  at  a  speed  of  from  3,000 
to  9,000  an  hour.  With  one  of  these  machines  and  one 
electro  the  whole  job  might  be  completed  in  a  day,  and 
the  cost  still  further  reduced.  Or,  if  the  job  were  larger 
and  of  a  cheap  grade,  it  might  be  put  upon  a  web  press 
and  done  at  half  the  price  at  which  it  could  be  run 
on  a  cylinder.  But  let  the  printer  always  remember 
that  if  he  has  better  machinery  than  others,  he  has  a 
right  to  make  more  money,  and  is,  therefore,  under 
no  obligation  to  give  such  profits  to  the  customer.  The 
printer  who  is  among  the  first  to  put  in  new  labor-saving 
machines  takes  chances,  and  should  reap  the  rewards  in 
extra  profits  when  he  secures  new  machines  that  are 
money-earners. 

Every  employing  printer  should  keep  a  book  of  esti- 
mates, retaining  a  copy  of  every  estimate  sent  out.  It 
is  also  well  to  preserve  the  figuring  and  calculations  in 
case  it  may  be  necessary  to  go  over  the  figures  later. 
This  avoids  chances  of  disputes  with  customers,  who 
sometimes  forget  or  misunderstand,  and  say  that  you 
have  promised  to  do  the  job  for  so  much,  or  under  such 
and  such  conditions.  It  is  unsafe  to  name  a  price  on  a 
job  that  is  at  all  complicated,  or  that  involves  much 
money,  without  going  over  the  figures  two  or  three  times 
to  prove  them.  The  most  careful  of  men  will  make 
errors  at  times,  and  only  by  systematic  proving  of  the 
figures  can  the  estimator  avoid  loss.  He  should  figure 
each  item  of  cost  separately,  so  as  not  to  confuse  them. 


I04  ESTIMATING. 

and  examine  each  to  see  if  it  is  right,  before  he  totals  the 
lot.  Then  it  is  well  to  figure  the  job  all  over  again  in  a 
different  way.  For  instance,  one  may  estimate  on  a  job 
by  taking  every  item  at  cost,  adding  all  general  expenses, 
and  a  final  profit.  Then  one  may  prove  this  by  calcu- 
lating the  number  of  hours'  work  on  the  whole  job, 
multiplying  by  the  price  per  hour  customarily  charged, 
and  then  adding  for  cost  of  materials  used,  etc.  A  third 
way  is  to  calculate  the  presswork  at  a  fixed  rate  known 
to  yield  a  profit,  then  the  composition,  binding,  etc.,  in 
the  same  way.  This  is  probably  the  method  most 
commonly  employed  by  printers,  and  while  it  has  the 
advantage  of  quickness  I  think  it  the  most  unsafe  way  of 
estimating  largj  jobs,  because  the  estimator  is  not  brought 
face  to  face  with  the  actual  cost,  and  is  too  apt  to  think 
that  he  can  drop  off  ten  per  cent,  to  get  the  job,  and  yet 
receive  a  profit.  However,  the  printer  who  figures  his 
large  jobs  in  two  or  more  ways,  and  finds  that  his  totals 
are  nearly  in  agreement,  has  positive  assurance  that  his 
figuring  is  correct,  and  in  deciding  on  the  final  price  to 
the  customer  realizes  just  how  much  he  is  impairing  his 
profit  if  he  cuts  the  price  slightly.  If  the  printer  finds  a 
material  difference  in  the  totals  obtained  by  the  three 
methods,  the  reason  for  the  difference  can  be  hunted  for 
and  found,  and  a  perhaps  serious  error  is  avoided. 

I  recently  saw  an  estimate  of  $144  given  on  a  job  that 
was  done  by  a  reputable  printer,  and  I  give  a  summary 
of  the  job  here,  with  estimates  formulated  in  several 
ways,  proving,  I  think,  that  the  price  ought  to  have  been 
at  the  very  least  $210,  and  that  it  was  done  at  an  actual 
loss  of  $40.  The  job  was  5,000  catalogues,  56  pages  and 
cover,  6x^  inch  page,  all  stock,  engravings  and  electros 
furnished,  outside  cover  to  be  in  two  colors,  binding  pur- 


ESTIMATING. 


105 


chased  outside,   proofs  to  be  furnished,   and  job  to  be 
packed  and  delivered  f.  o.  b. 


ESTIMATE     BY    ITEMS    AT    ACTUAL    COST. 

Composition  56  pages,  1  y^  hours  per  page,  at  30c. 

an  hour, 

Time  distributing  and  proof-reading  on  same,  40 

hours  at  30c., 

Composition,  four  pages  of  cover  (two  pages  in  two 

colors)  1 2  hours  at  30c. , 
Distribution,  proof-reading  and  make-up  of  cover, 

5  hours  at  30c.,     .         .         .         . 
Make-up  three    16s  and  one  8-page  form,  5  hours 

at  33c 

Taking  proofs  5  hours,  and  extra  corrections  s  hours 

at  30C., 

Making  ready  three  1 6s  at  2  hours  each,  and  one  8 

at    1/^    hours;    two   color-forms   at    2    hours 

each,  1 1%  hours  at  33c.,        .         .         .         . 
Time  of  feeder,  6  forms  of  5,000  each,  at  7  hours 

each,  at  20c.  an   hour,  .... 

Half  time  of  pressman  for  42  hours  at  33c., 
Packing  and  delivery,  5  hours  at  25c., 
Time  of  office  help  on  job,  20  hours,  at  30c.. 

Total  labor  cost,     ..... 

100  per  cent,  added  for  general  expense, 

Binding  (done   outside), 

Percentage   on   binding, 

lo  per  cent,  of  labor  and  exp.,  for  profit, 


Total, 


ESTIMATE    BY    SET    RATES. 

Composition  of  56  pages,  the  equivalent  of  1,200 

ems  composition  to  page,  at  70c.  per  1,000, 

Composition  cover,  four  pages,  two  in  two  colors 

12   hours  at   60c.,    plus  one-third  for  proof 

reading  and  distribution, 

Make-up,  six  forms,  5  hours  at  75c., 

Time  taking  proofs,   10  hours  at  50c., 

Presswork,  three  16-page  forms  at  60c.  a  token, 

"  one  8-page  form  at  50c.  a  token, 

'*  cover,  two  color-forms  at  75c.  a  token 

Packing  and  delivery,  5  hours  at  6oc., 

Binding  $40,  and  percentage  thereon,  $6, 

10  per  cent,  on  all  but  the  binding  for  profit, 

Total, 


$25  20 
12  00 
3  60 
I  50 
1  65 
3  00 

3  80 


8 

40 

6 

T) 

1 

25 

6 

00 

$73 

33 

73  33 

40 

00 

6 

00 

'4 

66 

.  y;20-]   32 


I47  04 


9 

60 

3 

75 

5 

GO 

•   36 

GO 

10 

00 

,   30 

00 

■; 

00 

46 

00 

•   >4 

50 

.  $204 

80 

I06  ESTIMATING. 


ESTIMATE    BY    TIME,  ETC, 

Time  of  large  cylinder  press,  practically  one  week 
at  $6  per  day, 

Time  of  pressman    and  feeder  at   actual  cost,  as 
previously  figured,         .         .         .         .         , 

Time  in  composing-room,  etc. ,  as  previously  figured 
at  cost,  but  omitting  time  of  office  help, 

loo  per  cent,  added  to  composing-room  for  gen- 
eral expense,  ..... 

10  per  cent,  on  above  items  for  profit, 

Binding  $40,  and  percentage  thereon,  $6, 


Total. 


36 

00 

'9 

»3 

48 

20 

48 

20 

•5 

15 

46 

00 

$212  68 


I  want  to  call  special  attention  here  to  the  fact  that  the 
charge  of  100  per  cent,  added  to  labor  cost  for  general 
expenses  may  be  too  low  for  many  establishments.  No 
printer  ought  to  take  this  for  granted  without  knowing 
just  what  is  his  general  expense.  A  committee  of  the 
Typothetae  of  Cincinnati,  in  1888,  made  an  exhaustive 
report  on  the  cost  of  printing,  and  reported  that  in  the 
composing-room  "The  amount  of  general  expense  to 
be  charged  against  each  job  is  a  sum  equal  to  about 
113  per  cent,  of  the  wages  involved  in  the  job."  If 
the  113  per  cent,  had  been  used  in  the  above  estimates 
the  cost  of  the  job  would  have  been  increased  about  $9. 

Comparison  of  the  above  estimates  deduces  one 
interesting  fact,  that  while  the  totals  of  the  estimates  by 
''actual  cost"  and  **set  rates"  are  nearly  the  same,  yet 
the  cost  of  the  presswork  is  nearly  $38  more  and  the 
composition  almost  $29  less  by  ''set  rates."  As  the 
"set  rates"  are  those  commonly  asked  in  the  large  cities 
of  the  United  States  to-day,  the  comparison  serves  to 
show  why  so  many  have  complained  that  there  was  no 
money  in  composition,  and  that  they  took  it  simply 
to  feed  the  pressroom.  The  price  of  composition 
should  be  raised  considerably  above  that  quoted  in  the 
"set  rates.  " 


ESTIMATING.  IO7 

An  estimator  for  a  printing  plant  is  much  strength- 
ened in  his  work  by  the  keeping  of  a  record  of  the 
cost  of  all  jobs,  and  subsequent  comparison  with  the 
cost  he  has  estimated.  In  every  well  regulated  office 
it  is  possible  to  know  after  a  job  is  done  just  what  it 
cost,  and  this  subsequent  correction  of  estimates  tends 
to  make  the  man  who  does  the  calculating  more  expert. 

It  is  generally  remarked  in  the  trade  that  printing 
is  a  ten  per  cent,  business.  Where  there  are  a  few 
firms  that  claim  to  make  more  than  ten  per  cent,  on 
their  capital,  there  are  dozens  that  admit  that  they  make 
less.  It  seems  to  me  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  men  who 
make  the  estimates  to  try  and  improve  this  condition 
of  affairs.  In  a  business  that  involves  so  many  risks, 
as  does  printing,  we  ought  to  figure  to  make  15  or  20 
per  cent.  There  are  very  few  lines  of  trade  in  which 
producers  take  the  chances  that  printers  do.  The  press 
builder  wisely  takes  no  risks,  but  protects  himself  with 
chattel  mortgages  ;  the  paper  dealer  insists  on  a  rating 
and  limited  credit  ;  even  the  tailor  no  longer  trusts 
indiscriminately,  but  demands  part  cash  down  with  the 
order.  But  the  printer  habitually  takes  orders  for  work 
that  is  of  no  use  to  any  one  but  the  man  ordering, 
makes  a  price  before  he  knows  the  cost,  and  usually 
waits  for  his  pay.  His  risk  is  added  to  by  the  practical 
impossibility  of  turning  out  a  large  job  without  some 
typographical  errors,  any  of  which  may  serve  as  a  basis 
for  a  demand  by  the  customer  for  a  discount.  When 
trade  customs  demand  that  the  printer  take  such  chances 
as  these,  the  printer  ought  to  estimate  to  protect  him- 
self by  demanding  a  larger  profit  on  the  work  that 
affords  a  profit. 

The  detail  of  an  estimate  should  never  be  shown  to 


I08  •  ESTIMATING. 

a  customer.  He  is  not  entitled  to  know  anything  but 
the  gross  price.  The  wisdom  of  retaining  such  knowl- 
edge is  apparent  on  a  very  short  examination  of  the 
effect  of  showing  the  details  of  estimates  to  customers. 
If  you  show  the  customer  that  you  have  placed  a  profit 
of  15  per  cent,  on  the  electrotyping  you  handle,  you 
only  invite  him  to  go  and  buy  direct  of  the  electrotyper. 
If  you  show  him  that  you  are  lower  on  presswork 
than  Jones,  and  Jones  shows  him  that  he  is  lower  on 
composition  than  you,  pretty  soon  the  work  is  divided 
so  that  both  you  and  Jones  are  getting  the  little  end 
of  it.  The  knowledge  of  details  when  gained  by  a 
customer  is  always  liable  to  be  used  to  the  disadvantage 
of  the  printer.  Remember  that  your  knowledge  is  a 
large  part  of  your  stock  in  trade,  and  that  it  should 
not  be  given  away. 

Beware  of  allowing  yourself  to  be  used  as  a  tool 
by  customers  who  bring  you  work  to  figure  on,  with 
no  intention  of  giving  you  the  job,  but  simply  in  the 
hope  of  securing  a  low  figure,  by  which  to  hammer 
down  the  price  of  the  printer  who  is  doing  the  work. 
If  you  allow  yourself  to  be  used  to  reduce  prices  to 
your  competitors,  you  have  only  yourself  to  blame  when 
they  retort  in  kind  against  you.  Theo.  L.  De  Vinne 
says  on  this  point,  in  his  "Price  List": 

"  It  is  not  fair  to  price  another  printer's  work  from  partial 
representations  of  the  case.  In  all  cases  where  estimate  is 
given  to  unknown  parties,  on  reprint  work,  give  it  in  this 
form  :  'For  an  exact  reprint,'  so  much.  'For  work  from 
manuscript  copy, with  alterations,  etc.,'  a  much  higher  price." 


CHAPTER  XI. 

ACaUIRING    MONEY. 

The  printers  who  retire  from  business  with  a  com- 
petency are  the  exception.  Only  a  small  number  acquire 
financial  success.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  not  an 
uncommon  thing  to  find  men,  along  in  years,  working 
at  the  case,  who  in  days  gone  by  have  been  owners  of 
printing  offices,  and  in  many  instances  owners  of  offices 
of  considerable  magnitude.  Many  build  up  a  large 
business  and  accumulate  a  great  amount  of  machin- 
ery and  type,  but  when  the  day  of  reckoning  comes, 
or  a  period  of  adversity  sets  in,  or  they  are  compelled 
to  dispose  of  their  plants  for  any  reason,  that  which 
cost  them  thousands  of  dollars  will  not  realize  hundreds. 
If  they  have  put  everything  into  their  business  and  the 
march  of  progress  has  made  their  plant  a  back-number, 
they  must  in  order  to  continue  in  business  sacrifice 
their  profits  to  compete  with  the  new  improved  machin- 
ery ;  and  when  that  time  arrives  the  end  is  near  at 
hand. 

Striking  examples  of  this  are  so  numerous  as  to  be 
familiar  to  every  one  ;  and  so  few  precautions  are  taken 
to  guard  against  it  that  it  is  probable  that  the  same 
condition  will  always  exist. 

I  have  made  a  chapter  on  this  subject  because  of 
the  many  friendly  expressions  from  employers  who  had 


no  ACQUIRING   MONEY. 

read  my  article  in  a  trade  paper  on  **  Business  Pre- 
cautions," which  was  written  along  these  lines.  One 
New  York  printer  who  has  a  very  large  plant  said  : 
**If  I  had  adopted  your  plan  25  years  ago  I  would  be 
independently  rich  to-day  and  could  retire  from  business  ; 
but  it  is  too  late  now.  I  must  continue  to  scrape  along. 
My  plant  is  a  big  one,  but  it  is  a  back-number,  and  I 
can't  make  the  profit  I  used  to.  My  opportunities  are 
gone  !" 

People  in  other  lines  go  into  business  in  the  hope 
of  making  money  enough  so  they  can  take  things  e::sy 
in  later  life  if  they  want  to.  They  have  this  purpose 
in  view  throughout  their  entire  career,  and  the  pro- 
portion who  accomplish  their  aim  are  probably  gre;;tcr 
in  almost  any  other  business  than  in  printing.  They 
acquire  real  estate  and  other  properties  that  continue 
to  increase  in  value,  and  after  having  been  in  business 
fifteen  or  twenty  years  they  have  money  enough  on 
which  to  live  comfortably,  and  can  give  up  active  busi- 
ness if  they  want  to.  It  seems  to  be  very  different  in 
the  printing  business  ;  the  majority  of  printers  put  all 
their  earnings  back  into  their  plants,  buying  more 
machinery  and  reaching  out  for  other  classes  of  work 
without  investigating  the  possibilities  of  making  any 
greater  profit  with  the  increased  facilities.  Many  and 
many  a  printer  who  was  making  a  comfortable  living 
with  a  small  plant  has  been  brought  to  ruin  by  * 'growing 
too  fast,"  and  by  loading  himself  down  with  the  expense 
of  machinery  which  he  not  only  did  not  have  sufficient 
work  for,  but  which  would  not  have  made  a  profit 
commensurate'  to  the  outlay  even  if  he  had  been  fairly 
successful  in  getting  work  for  the  machines.  If  the 
money  had  been   put  into  a  savings  bank  instead,  it 


ACaUIRlNG   MONEY.  I  I  I 

would  have  increased  steadily,  while  on  the  other  hand 
the  original  investment  not  only  depreciated  in  value, 
but  was  also  an  added  expense  and  a  constant  drain 
on  his  profits.  It  is  safer  sometimes  to  err  on  the  side 
of  conservatism  than  on  the  side  of  adventiire.  At 
least  let  the  chances  of  success  be  in  your  favor.  Don't 
go  into  anything  blindly.  Just  as  systematic  saving 
grows  very  rapidly,  so  a  constant  expense  will  amount 
to  a  considerable  sum  if  allowed  to  continue.  Five 
hundred  dollars  unnecessarily  spent  in  fixing  up  a 
handsome  office  is  less  wasteful  than  if  put  into  a 
machine  that  cannot  be  kept  profitably  busy.  With 
the  first  the  loss  ends  with  the  outlay,  while  with  the 
latter  there  is  a  constantly  accumulating  loss  which  far 
exceeds  the  original  amount.  Don't  let  the  foregoing 
remarks  lead  you  to  believe  that  I  am  opposed  to  the 
adoption  of  improved  machinery  ;  for  there  is  nothing 
I  would  advocate  more  strongly.  The  man  who  con- 
tinues to  operate  an  antiquated  machine,  the  output 
from  which  is  inferior  to  other  machines  in  use,  makes 
a  very  grave  mistake.  He  handicaps  his  possibilities 
of  success,  because  the  running  expense,  if  not  more, 
is  as  great  on  the  old  machine  ;  it  takes  up  as  much 
floor  space,  and  in  every  way  costs  as  r.  vxh  to  run  ; 
therefore,  if  the  improved  one  will  produce  more,  and 
the  accumulation  of  the  increased  profit  would  in  a 
short  time  pay  for  the  expense  of  making  the  change 
it  would  be  very  unwise  not  to  do  so,  because  the 
machine  is  not  only  paying  for  itself,  but  soon  begins 
to  earn  a  larger  profit  for  its  owner.  Before  making  a 
change,  however,  there  should  be  a  reasonable  certainty 
of  having  the  necessary  work  to  keep  it  profitably 
busy. 


112  ACQUIRING   MONEY. 

A  man's  earning  capacity  is  greatest  between  the  ages 
of  25  and  45  years.  If  he  will  adopt  some  method  of 
forced  systematic  saving  during  that  period  he  will  be 
able  in  later  life  to  withstand  almost  any  adversity.  In 
times  of  financial  panic,  plant  and  machinery  count  for 
very  little  ;  the  man  with  available  cash  is  master  of 
the  situation. 

The  plan  that  I  recommend  and  the  one  I  have 
adopted,  is  Life  Insurance  and  the  Building  and  Loan 
plan.  A  regular  investment  of  one  dollar  a  week  in  a 
Building  and  Loan  Association  will  amount  to  nearly 
$1,000  in  eleven  or  twelve  years  ;  five  dollars  a  week 
will  amount  to  five  times  as  much  ;  twenty  dollars  a 
week,  twenty  times  as  much.  Systematic  saving  ac- 
cumulates most  wonderfully,  but  very  few  of  us  will 
continue  to  save  systematically  unless  it  be  by  some 
plan  which  once  begun,  requires  that  we  shall  continue. 
Local  Building  and  Loan  Associations  are  as  safe  as  Sav^ 
ings  Banks.  Savings  Banks  are  all  right,  but  the  man 
who  makes  up  his  mind  to  try  to  put  a  stated  amount 
in  the  bank  every  week  or  every  month  will  find  many 
excuses  for  neglecting  to  do  so,  and  perhaps  soon 
abandon  the  plan  entirely  ;  whereas  the  stimulus  and 
incentive  of  the  Building  and  Loan  system  are  likely 
to  induce  him  to  find  a  means  of  fulfilling  his  obligation. 

Besides  the  Building  and  Loan  plan  the  employing 
printer  should  carry  a  Life  Insurance  Policy.  The  reli- 
able insurance  companies  issue  policies  that  will  meet 
the  requirements  of  almost  any  individual.  Policies  are 
written  giving  several  options.  The  Endowment  and 
Paid-up  Policy  plans  are  excellent.  After  being  in  force 
three  months  the  family  is  provided  for  in  case  of  death 
of  the   insured.     At  the   expiration  of  three   years   the 


ACQUIRING   MONEY.  I  1 3 

policy  is  non-forfeitable.  Whatever  happens,  the  policy 
has  a  fixed  value.  If  the  insured  finds  it  impossible  to 
continue  his  insurance,  or  wishes  to  reduce  the  amount, 
the  money  he  has  paid  is  not  lost.  His  insurance  has 
a  borrowing  value.  An  arrangement  can  be  made 
with  the  company  whereby  the  insured  may  have 
additional  time  in  which  to  pay  his  insurance  in  the 
event  of  such  payment  coming  due  at  a  date  when  he 
is  unprepared.  And  an  Endowment  Policy  that  is  begun 
in  the  prime  of  life  matures  at  the  time  when  a  man 
may  be  glad  to  retire  from  the  worries  and  details  of 
the  printing  business.  There  is  the  security  in  these 
two  plans  that  will  enable  a  man  to  safely  pass  through 
a  critical  period  that  would  otherwise  be  disastrous. 

They  may  appear  too  trivial  for  some  employers, 
but  I  have  seen  large  enterprises  go  to  pieces  that  could 
have  been  saved  with  less  than  a  thousand  dollars. 
The  putting  away  regularly  of  a  small  amount  is  so 
insignificant  as  to  be  almost  beneath  the  consideration 
of  some  business  men  ;  but  in  neglecting  it  (with  the 
expectation  of  making  profit  enough  to  permit  of  some- 
thing on  a  more  extensive  and  more  pretentious  scale), 
they  may  find  that  they  cannot  work  out  their  ambition. 
They  may  perhaps  be  compelled  to  forfeit  the  fruits  of 
a  lifetime,  and  begin  again  at  the  bottom  of  the  ladder, 
at  a  time  of  life  when  they  are  least  fitted  for  the 
struggle. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

PRICE  CUTTING. 

If  there  is  any  one  thing  in  the  business  management 
of  a  printing  office  that  particularly  commands  the  utter 
disapproval  of  successful  printers  as  being  worse  than 
other  evils  that  beset  the  trade,  it  is  the  cutting  of  prices. 
The  method  of  getting  work  by  lowering  the  price 
has  absolutely  nothing  to  recommend  it,  and  it  is  contrary 
to  common  sense.  The  practice  is  absolutely  wrong 
in  principle,  and  the  reasoning  advanced  in  its  support, 
stripped  of  its  verbiage,  is  the  equivalent  of  that  of  the 
old  apple-woman  who  bought  apples  at  a  cent  each 
and  was  selling  them  at  ten  cents  a  dozen,  and  when 
^sked  how  she  could  make  any  money  at  that  replied: 
**By  doing  a  very  large  business." 

The  majority  of  employing  printers  are  more  enthusi- 
:astic  workers  than  they  are  competent  business  men. 
They  worry  more  about  an  idle  press  than  they  do 
.about  the  lack  of  profit  in  a  job;  and  for  this  reason 
will  take  a  profitless  order  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
keeping  a  press  busy.  Thus  they  establish  a  price 
not  only  on  that  particular  order,  but  one  that  is  used 
for  comparison  with  every  succeeding  order.  The  evil 
results  are  not  confined  to  the  printer  who  does  this, 
but  other  printers  are  expected  to  meet  these  prices, 
.and  "knowing  that  the   work   has   once  been   done  at 


PRICE   CUTTING.  II5 

these  figures,  another  will  take  it  at  the  same  price, 
and  soon  this  profitless  price  becomes  the  established 
price,  and  the  whole  trade  is  injured  thereby.  It  is  the 
repetition  of  this  sort  of  thing  that  has  demoralized 
the  job  printing  business,  and  the  only  salvation  lies  in 
bringing  this  fact  forcibly  before  the  attention  of  the 
trade  so  that  printers  will  realize  the  folly  of  it,  and 
rather  see  a  press  idle  or  a  composing-room  empty 
than  work  for  nothing. 

There  is  always  a  certain  amount  of  printing  that 
must  be  done,  and  which  will  be  placed  at  a  figure 
that  will  leave  a  profit  to  the  printer,  if  no  printer  can 
be  induced  to  take  it  at  a  loss  ;  and  if  employers  gen- 
erally, instead  of  taking  work  for  the  sake  of  keeping 
their  plants  busy,  will  refuse  to  handle  it  except  at  a 
fair  profit,  they  will  find  at  the  end  of  the  year  that 
they  are  better  off,  and  soon  the  benefit  will  be  felt 
all  along  the  line,  and  the  printing  business  will  be  in 
a  more  hopeful  condition. 

If  the  printing  business  as  generally  conducted  is  a 
ten  per  cent,  business,  it  is  apparent  that  a  charge  of 
ten  per  cent,  more  will  increase  the  profit  one  hundred 
per  cent.,  and  it  is  probably  safe  to  say  that  in  seven 
cases  out  of  ten  an  extra  ten  per  cent,  can  be  charged 
without  serious  objection  on  the  part  of  the  customer. 
A  plant  that  is  doing  $50,000  worth  of  business  a  year 
at  a  profit  of  ten  per  cent,  makes  very  much  less  than 
if  it  did  only  $35,000  worth  of  business  in  the  same 
time  at  a  profit  of  twenty  per  cent.  I  am  aware  that 
these  assumptions  are  largely  hypothetical,  because  there 
are  few  printers  who  make  even  the  ten  per  cent,  yet 
it  is  not  only  possible  but  proper  that  twenty  per  cent. 
profits  should  be  secured  on  all  small  work.      In  small 


Il6  PRICE   CUTTING. 

job  offices  orders  range  in  price  from  $2  to  $20 — some- 
times more  than  the  latter  figure,  but  not  very  frequently. 
Very  few  customers  would  object  to  paying  $2.25  to 
$22.  Stationers  and  middlemen  succeed  in  getting  even 
larger  advances  on  cost,  and  why  not  the  printer? 
Recently  I  saw  a  middleman  who  obtained  a  quotation 
of  $21  on  a  lot  of  printing,  and  who,  after  endeavoring 
to  get  a  lower  price,  finally  left  the  order  with  the 
printer.  Later  I  chanced  to  learn  that  he  charged  the 
customer  $38,  leaving  a  profit  of  $17  to  himself  He 
simply  secured  the  order  and  did  a  little  of  the  talking 
for  §17,  while  the  printer  did  all  the  work  and  furnished 
the  stock,  assuming  all  the  risk  of  spoiling  the  job  in 
process  of  manufacture  (and  there  is  always  that  risk 
on  every  piece  of  work),  and  he  probably  made  ten 
per  cent. — $2.  The  division  of  profits  in  this  case 
should  have  been  just  the  reverse,  the  printer  was 
entitled  to  the  large  end,  and  if  all  printers  could  be 
induced  to  realize  this  the  business  would  be  more 
profitable.  The  deplorable  condition  now  so  frequently 
lamented  in  the  trade  would  not  exist,  and  it  might  be 
possible  for  a  printer  here  and  there  to  amass  wealth, 
just  as  we  see  men  do  in  other  lines  of  trade. 

The  printing  business  is  different  from  most  manu- 
facturing lines,  in  that  there  never  can  be  an  over-pro- 
duction. The  business  now  suffers,  perhaps,  because 
there  are  too  many  producers  of  printing,  but  if  it  were 
possible  to  go  on  producing  and  putting  the  product 
into  stock,  the  condition  would  be  even  worse  than 
that  which  existed  in  the  bicycle  business  in  1898, 
when  all  the  manufacturers  had  more  wheels  than  the 
public  would  use.  The  liquor  business  does  not  seem 
to  be  greatly  affected    by  the    number  of  saloons  in 


PRICE   CUTTING.  I  1 7 

existence,  because  there  is  a  large  margin  of  profit  on 
the  sales.  If  liquor  dealers  should  try  to  compete  with 
each  other  on  prices,  and  cut  their  charges  in  half  they 
would  be  obliged  to  do  more  than  double  their  present 
amount  of  business  to  make  as  much  money  as  they 
do  at  present.  This  fact  seems  to  be  universally  known 
and  acted  upon.  Notwithstanding  that  every  small 
liquor  dealer  knows  that  the  glass  of  beer  that  he  sells 
for  five  cents  costs  but  one  cent  we  never  hear  of  any 
trying  to  get  all  the  trade  by  selling  it  for  three  cents 
a  glass.  It  seems  strange  that  saloon-keepers  should 
be  better  business  men  than  printers,  yet  it  certainly 
looks  as  if  they  were. 

Brother  printer,  if  you  have  been  guilty  of  price 
cutting,  just  stop  a  little  while  and  reflect  that  it  is 
not  necessary  for  you  to  get  every  job  in  sight,  but 
rather  that  you  should  aim  to  secure  a  fair  profit  on 
everything  that  you  handle.  By  pursuing  this  course 
you  will  not  have  to  work  so  hard  and  you  will  have 
something  to  show  for  your  labor.  Remember  the 
busiest  printer  is  not  always  the  most  prosperous 
printer.  Look  back  over  your  books  if  you  have  been 
in  business  five  years,  and  figure  out  where  you  would 
be  now  if  you  had  rejected  all  the  unprofitable  work 
that  came  your  way  and  besides  that  had  charged  ten 
per  cent,  more  on  all  the  orders  that  would  have  stood 
the  price.  If  this  will  not  cure  you  of  price  cutting, 
nothing  will. 

There  would  be  less  difficulty  in  dealing  with  men 
who  undercharge  if  the  average  employee  were  made 
better  acquainted  with  the  actual  cost  of  producing 
printing.  If  proprietors  would  occasionally  take  an 
hour  and  explain  to  employees  all  the  items  that  go  to 


Il8  PRICE  CUTTING. 

swell  the  cost  there  would  be  fewer  employees  setting 
up  in  business  for  themselves  and  cutting  prices  to  get 
work.  Many  and  many  a  bright  young  printer  has 
started  up  for  himself  with  an  entirely  mistaken  notion 
as  to  what  he  must  charge  to  come  out  even.  The 
average  journeyman  learns  that  from  $1.50  to  $2  per 
thousand  are  common  charges  for  cylinder  presswork, 
and  he  reasons  that  the  wages  of  the  feeder  and  part 
time  of  the  pressman  cost  but  $3  to  $4  per  day,  and 
that  possibly  the  ink,  oil  and  wear  and  tear  may  run 
up  the  cost  to  $5,  so  that  if  a  cylinder  produces  $io- 
to  $15  worth  of  work  in  a  day,  that  the  proprietor 
clears  $5  to  $10.  With  these  erroneous  notions  he 
goes  into  business  and  becomes  a  price  cutter,  doing 
presswork  for  $1  a  thousand  and  worrying  along  for  a 
year  or  two  until  he  either  learns  better  or  makes  a 
failure. 

Can  we,  as  employing  printers,  blame  anybody  but 
ourselves  for  this  sort  of  thing?  Can  we  not  prevent 
it  by  educating  our  employees  so  that  when  they 
embark  in  trade  for  themselves  they  will  not  be  a 
menace  to  us  ?  Is  it  not  a  part  of  our  duty  when  teach- 
ing men  the  trade  to  instruct  them  how  to  ascertain 
the  cost  of  work  that  they  may  not  deceive  them- 
selves ?  If  this  course  were  generally  followed,  would 
there  not  be  more  good  printers  willing  to  retain  places 
as  foremen  and  superintendents  at  comfortable  salaries 
rather  than  entering  into  competition  with  their  former 
employers  ?  In  every  city  there  is  almost  sure  to  be  a 
printer  or  two  of  the  price-cutting  class  who  have  been 
developed  by  ignorance  and  whose  endeavor  seems 
to  be  not  to  get  good  prices  for  printing  but  to  get 
all  the   printing  at  any  price.      Of   course    such    men 


PRICE   CUTTING.  I  1 9 

eventually  learn  to  their  sorrow  that  their  course  was  a 
mistaken  one,  but  when  this  knowledge  comes  the 
evil  has  been  done  to  them  and  to  their  competitors; 
and  when  such  price  cutters  have  been  brushed  aside 
by  the  inexorable  laws  of  trade  that  require  a  profit 
for  a  continuance  in  business,  then,  unfortunately,  some 
other  over-zealous  and  under-informed  printers  rise  to 
take  their  places,  and  so  the  demoralization  in  trade  is 
kept  up.  If  means  were  devised  for  making  such  men 
see  the  error  of  their  ways  quite  early  in  their  careers,. 
it  would  be  a  great  boon  to  the  trade  as  a  whole. 

There  are  printers  who  know  the  cost  of  work,  but 
who  deceive  themselves  as  to  their  ability  to  rush  work 
through,  believing  that  they  can  produce  work  more 
cheaply  than  their  competitors.  It  is  a  mistake  for  any 
printer  to  assume  that  he  is  smarter  than  those  who 
compete  with  him  for  trade,  and  that  his  clever  man- 
agement enables  him  to  get  out  his  work  lo  or  15 
per  cent,  cheaper  than  others.  Such  men  are  usually 
hustlers  themselves  and  calculate  that  the  proper  time 
charge  on  a  job  is  the  time  that  they  themselves 
would  require  for  its  execution,  whereas  the  proper  time 
charge  on  a  job  is  the  average  time  that  the  average 
workman  would  consume  in  getting  it  out.  The  printer 
who  really  is  smarter  than  his  fellows  can  always  be 
depended  upon  to  charge  enough  for  his  work,  and  if 
he  can  rush  it  through  in  less  than  the  average  time 
he  will  know  enough  to  pocket  this  legitimate  profit 
and  not  give  it  away. 

Other  printers  there  are  who  mean  to  charge  fair 
prices  for  their  work,  but  who  are  continually  cutting 
rates  to  new  customers  in  order  to  "get  in"  on  their 
trade.     They  call  this  giving  ** special"  prices,   but  to 


I20  PRICE   CUTTING. 

my  notion  special  prices  are  always  unprofitable  prices 
and  fail  to  bring  any  trade  that  is  worth  having.  The 
man  who  brings  his  printing  to  a  certain  office  because 
he  has  had  a  special  price  is  looking  for  something 
more  of  the  same  sort.  He  is  spoiled  for  the  paying 
of  regular  prices,  and  wants  more  for  the  money  than 
the  printer  can  afford  to  give.  I  have  nothing  but 
condemnation  for  this  sort  of  price  cutting.  Born  of 
fallacious  reasoning  and  developed  by  mistaken  selfish- 
ness, it  has  nothing  to  commend  or  excuse  itself,  but 
is  wholly  and  unqualifiedly  bad  in  theory  and  ruinous 
in  practice. 

The  custom  of  taking  ** fillers"  is  another  form  of 
price  cutting.  This  error  originates  in  the  notion  that 
a  printer  can  afford  to  take  work  at  less  than  regular 
rates  if  by  so  doing  he  can  fill  in  the  idle  time  in  his 
pressroom — or  it  may  be  the  composing-room.  He  rea- 
sons that  he  is  doing  $i,ooo  worth  of  business  a  month 
at  a  cost  of  $900,  and  that  he  has  facilities  for  doing 
$600  more  worth  of  work,  which  could  be  turned  out 
without  any  increase  of  his  general  expenses.  In  other 
words,  the  labor  cost  on  this  extra  $600  a  month  would 
be  but  $300,  and  by  cutting  the  price  on  that  extra 
work  to  $500,  he  sees  a  way  to  make  $200  more  a 
month.  This  reasoning  is  plausible  and  deceives  many, 
and  probably  will  go  on  deceiving  printers  as  long  as 
competition  exists.  But  it  is  all  wrong,  and  must  prove 
disastrous  in  the  long  run,  because  it  does  not  take 
into  consideration  all  the  conditions. 

The  printer  who  cuts  prices  and  takes  a  filler  robs 
some  other  printer  of  a  job  that  is  paying  a  legitimate 
profit,  and  at  the  same  time  he  spoils  a  customer  and 
establishes  a  rate  on  certain  work  that  is  profitless  to  any 


PRICE   CUTTING.  121 

office  doing  all  work  at  such  prices.  These  things 
soon  react  on  the  printer  who  takes  fillers.  The  com- 
petitors who  lose  the  work  on  which  he  has  cut  the 
price  are  very  apt  to  cut  him  in  return,  in  order  to 
make  employment  for  their  presses.  Without  profitable 
work  to  carry  the  general  expense  the  office  cannot 
be  supported,  since  fillers  are  taken  without  regard  to 
the  items  of  general  expense.  The  demoralization  of 
customers  and  competitors  that  follows  the  taking  of 
fillers  always  more  than  offsets  any  imaginary  immediate 
gains  obtained  by  filling  up  an  office  with  work.  It  is 
not  always  the  printery  rushed  with  orders  that  yields 
the  best  returns,  but  rather  the  one  in  which  the 
manager  extracts  a  profit  from  every  job  that  he 
touches. 

George  H.  Benedict,  a  leading  Chicago  electrotyper, 
was  so  impressed  with  the  craft's  need  of  education  in 
the  matter  of  taking  fillers  that  in  February,  1899,  he 
offered  through  the  Inland  Printer,  $100  in  prizes  for  the 
best  essays  on  "The  Fallacy  of  Fillers."  Mr.  Benedict's 
own  method  of  explaining  the  fallacy  is  found  in  the  fol- 
lowing dialogue,  which  is  reproduced  in  full  from  the 
Inland  Printer: 

Question.     What  is  your  business  ? 

Answer.     Printer. 

Q.     Is  printing  a  profitable  business? 

A.  Not  very;  there  is  only  a  living  in  it,  and  not  much 
of  a  future. 

Q.     What  is  the  reason  printing  is  not  profitable  ? 

A.  There  is  too  much  competition,  consequently  prices 
are  very  low. 

Q.  Do  you  ever  take  orders  at  prices  that  are  not  profit- 
able ? 

A.     Sometimes  1  do  when  we  are  not  busy. 

Q.  Will  you  explain  why  you  are  willing  to  do  any 
work  without  profit? 


122  PRICE   CUTTING. 

A.  Yes.  Because  when  we  are  not  busy  we  would  rather 
take  an  oider  as  a  "  filler"  at  cost,  than  to  have  our  machin- 
ery or  men  idle. 

Q.  What  is  the  occasion  for  taking  the  work  at  cost, 
even  as  a  '*  filler"? 

A.  Others  will  do  the  same;  they  set  the  price;  we  take 
it  for  less  when  we  want  it  to  "fill  in." 

Q.  Is  it  not  probable  that  in  figuring  so  close  to  cost 
you  are  liable  to  have  a  loss? 

A.  Quite  likely,  but  we  would  not  lose  as  much  as  we 
should  if  our  machinery  were  standing  still,  or  the  men  have 
nothing  to  do. 

Q.  You  say  others  set  the  price.  If  this  is  correct,  how 
do  you  suppose  they  feel  at  the  loss  of  the  order  ? 

A.  I  don't  know  anything  about  that,  it  is  none  of  my 
business.     I  am  looking  out  for  myself. 

Q.  If  you  were  to  hear  another  say  that  would  it  not 
indicate  selfishness? 

A.  Perhaps  it  would,  but  ''Self-preservation  is  the  first 
law  of  nature." 

Q.  Do  you  not  think  all  printers  have  the  same  views 
of  "fillers "  that  you  have  expressed  ? 

A.  Undoubtedly;  they  will  all  take  "fillers"  when  they 
need  them  if  they  get  a  chance. 

Q.  If  that  is  the  case,  is  it  not  probable  that  the  practice 
of  taking  in  "fillers"  has  its  effect  in  lowering  prices  on  all 
work? 

A.     \    don't   know  about   that.     When  I    am  busy  I  get 
all  I  can  for  my  work,  and  when  I  am  not  busy  i  take  it  at 
any  price  1  can  get. 
*  Q.     Are  not  all  printers  alike  in  that  respect  ? 

A.     Quite  likely. 

Q.  Aside  from  improvements  in  methods  and  machinery^ 
can  you  mention  any  factor  that  is  accountable  for  the  lower* 
ing  of  prices? 

A.     Competition  lowers  prices. 

Q.  Do  low  prices  create  an  increased  demand  for  print- 
ing? 

A.  I  don't  know  whether  they  do  or  not. 

Q.  If  that  is  the  case,  would  it  not  be  well  to  maintain 
a  profitable  rate  for  your  product  and  let  the  "  fillers"  g©  to 
the  one  who  names  a  profitable  price  on  the  work? 

A.  It  would  be  a  good  thing  for  the  other  fellow,  but 
it  would  not  keep  my  machinery  running,  and  that  is  what 
I  am  interested  in. 

Q.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  if  you  want  "fillers"  and  every 
other  printer  wants  "fillers"  is  this  practice  not  a  fallacy? 
Are  you  not,  by  upholding  the  practice,  doing  the  trade 
you  are  in  as  much  harm  as  you  can  ?  Are  you  not  account- 
able for  being  in  the  competition,  which  you  declare  is  the 
cause  of  low  prices,  and  if  you  continue  to  want  "fillers" 
can  you  expect  competition  will  ever  be  less  keen? 


PRICE   CUTTING.  12) 

A.  I  presume  not.  I,  like  the  rest,  want  to  be  busy, 
and  as  long  as  others  apply  the  theory  of  "fillers"  to  keep 
going,  1  must  do  the  same. 

Q.  Then  the  "Fallacy  of  Fillers"  is  rather  a  difficult 
proposition  to  solve? 

A.     It  beats  me,  and  I  give  it  up. 

I  cannot  conceive  how  any  sane  printer  after  reading 
the  above  can  continue  the  practice  of  taking  work  at 
cut  prices  to  fill  in.  It  is  hard  to  understand  why 
intelligent  printers  should  cut  prices  in  any  way,  yet  the 
fact  remains  that  price  cutting  goes  on  in  every  city  in 
the  country  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  and  that  this 
has  more  to  do  with  keeping  the  craft  poor  than  any 
other  existing  condition. 

We  all  know  that  doctors,  lawyers,  and  professional 
men  generally  scorn  to  underbid  each  other,  but  rather 
seek  the  reputation  of  making  high  charges,  because 
their  services  are  then  deemed  the  more  valuable.  The 
printer  who  will  but  have  the  courage  to  take  chances 
on  losing  a  little  work  by  keeping  up  his  charges  will 
soon  find  that  this  is  one  of  the  secrets  of  success.  It 
is  natural  for  customers  to  refuse  to  place  much  value 
on  that  which  they  can  buy  cheaply,  and  they  assume 
that  the  printer  who  makes  high  charges  is  more  sure 
to  give  good  work  than  the  printer  who  does  it  cheaply  ; 
and  in  this  way  are  correct,  for  only  the  printer  who 
makes  proper  charges  can  afford  to  give  the  best  service. 
Therefore  it  is  that  the  few  printers  who  know  enough 
to  charge  good  prices  control  most  of  the  good  custom, 
while  the  price  cutters  get  that  which  is  least  worth 
having  and  remain  poor. 

Never  yet  did  a  printer  get  rich  by  cutting  prices; 
the  most  prosperous  have  been  those  who  charged  the 
highest  prices,  seeking  to  give  customers  quality  rather 
than  cheapness. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

COMPETITORS. 

While  the  theory  of  business  is  to  secure  a  large 
share  of  work  at  profitable  prices,  and  while  competi- 
tors are  always  in  the  way  of  one's  accomplishment 
of  this  object,  yet  it  is  a  serious  error  to  assume  that 
competitors  are  enemies,  and  that  it  is  a  part  of  one's 
duty  as  a  business  man  to  pull  others  down  in  build- 
ing up  one's  own  trade.  On  the  contrary,  an  employ- 
ing printer  should  be  just  as  careful  in  his  treatment 
of  competitors  rs  of  his  customers,  and  a  large  meas- 
ure of  his  success  will  be  dependent  upon  the  character 
he  bears  amongst  those  with  whom  he  competes  for 
trade. 

I  consider  that  the  proper  way  is  to  regard  competi- 
tors as  limited  partners  in  one's  business,  having  some 
interests  that  are  common  as  well  as  some  that  are 
opposed.  It  is  apparent,  if  there  are  ten  printing  offices 
in  a  city,  that  the  trade  must  be  divided  between  the 
ten  or  else  go  out  of  town,  and  the  division  must 
usually  be  in  such  proportion  that  the  smallest  and 
weakest  of  the  ten  may  at  least  earn  a  living  for  its 
proprietor.  Such  being  the  case  it  behooves  all  to 
consider  what  things  they  have  in  common.  These  ten 
can  regulate  the   prices  of  printing  in  that  city  up  to 


COMPETITORS.  1 25 

the  point  of  competition  from  other  cities,  and  they  are 
certainly  foolish  if  they  allow  competition  among  them- 
selves to  depreciate  prices.  The  ten  have  another  bond 
in  the  matter  of  resisting  any  possible  unfair  exactions 
or  demands  from  their  employees,  which  can  be  done 
by  combined  action.  Another  mutual  interest  exists  in 
exchanging  the  names  of  undesirable  customers,  thus 
protecting  each  other  against  loss. 

If  competing  printers  will  but  cultivate  one  another 
they  will  find  many  advantages  in  reciprocation.  Sup- 
pose that  in  our  city  of  ten  printing  offices  there  are 
ten  publications  given  out  to  local  printeries,  and  that 
five  of  the  offices  are  doing  them  on  yearly  contracts. 
The  other  five  want  this  work  to  make  steady  em- 
ployment for  the  men,  and  cut  the  rates  so  as  to  secure 
the  work.  Thus  the  publications  are  seesawed  year 
after  year,  from  office  to  office,  always  at  a  lower  r.;te. 
How  much  more  sensible  for  the  ten  to  get  together 
and  say:  "These  ten  periodicals  must  pay  us  f:iir  prices. 
Let  us  make  a  rate  applicable  to  all  of  them,  and  all 
agree  not  to  touch  them  under  that  price.  Then  the 
customers  may  give  them  to  whom  they  plea:e,  and 
some  of  us  will  make  a  little  money  off  them,  while 
nobody  can  lose.  "  It  is  so  evident  that  this  is  the 
proper  policy  that  it  is  hard  to  understand  why  this  is 
not  the  common  custom.  As  a  matter  of  fact  we  all 
know  that  the  common  way  is  to  allow  the  work  to 
be  cut  and  cut  in  price,  by  the  very  men  who  have  to 
do  it.  This  policy  is  as  foolish  for  master  printers  as 
it  would  be  for  ten  workmen  in  an  office  where  there 
was  employment  for  but  nine,  to  each  go  to  the  pro- 
prietor and  offer  to  accept  lower  wages  for  fear  of 
being  dismissed.      When  employees  know   better  than 


126  COMPETITORS. 

to   go    about    underbidding   each    other,    why    do    not 
proprietors  profit  by  their  example  ? 

The  treatment  of  competitors  is  not  altogether  a 
question  of  maintaining  prices.  It  is  the  duty  of  every 
man  to  be  a  gentleman,  and  the  master  printer  who 
never  forgets  this  will  be  ever  fair  and  courteous  to 
his  business  rivals,  and  never  serve  one  a  mean  trick, 
or  say  that  behind  his  back  that  he  would  not  say  to 
his  face.  Discourtesy  to  competitors  may  take  various 
forms.  The  printer  who  runs  down  the  work  of  another, 
or  unfairly  decries  his  facilities  is  guilty  of  discourtesy. 
If  a  competitor's  work  be  absolutely  bad,  so  as  not  to 
be  in  the  same  class  with  yours,  and  customers  quote 
his  prices  against  you,  it  does  not  require  very  much 
tact  to  make  the  customer  see  the  difference  without 
descending  to  abuse  of  the  other  printer.  A  good  way 
in  such  a  case  is  to  say:  "Well,  if  Jones  has  offered  to 
j$rint  that  for  you  for  $ioo,  I  have  no  doubt  that  he 
will  put  $100  worth  of  work  into  the  job,  for  he  is  an 
honest  man;  but  I  cannot  do  that  job  in  the  way  that  1 
consider  that  it  should  be  done  for  less  than  $125,  or  I 
should  lose  money,  just  as  would  a  dealer  who  offered 
you  a  pair  of  shoes  with  a  $5  value  for  $3.  I  have 
nothing  to  say  against  Mr.  Jones,  his  methods,  or  his 
prices,  but  I  find  that  it  pays  me  best  to  do  work  like 
that — and  that — ( showing  samples )  and  to  charge  what 
it  is  worth.  " 

Is  not  this  more  gentlemanly,  and  quite  as  likely 
to  preserve  the  customer,  as  if  you  should  say: 
**Why  do  you  go  to  that  man  Jones  .^  He  has  noth- 
ing but  old  type  and  worn  out  presses,  and  does  not 
know  how  to  do  good  work."  Such  talk  would 
sooner   or  later   be   carried   back  to  Jones,  who  would 


COMPETITORS.  1 27 

learn  to  hate  you  and  damage  you  whenever  he  saw  a 
chance. 

If  a  competitor  is  your  equal  in  the  production  of 
work,  it  is  even  more  culpable  to  decry  his  efforts. 
If  asked  to  comment  on  the  work  of  such  a  man  it  is 
always  best  to  admit  his  merits  frankly,  as  by  saying: 
*' Smith  is  a  good  workman  and  a  fair  competitor;  I 
have  nothing  to  say  against  him."  When  Smith  learns 
that  you  speak  thus  of  him,  he  will  be  very  apt  to 
speak  well  of  you,  and  sometime  when  you  meet  it 
will  be  easy  for  you  to  arrive  at  understandings  for  the 
maintenance  of  prices. 

Another  form  of  discourtesy  towards  competitors 
lies  in  the  taking  of  employees  from  others  without 
fair  notice.  If  you  want  a  workman  employed  by 
another,  and  take  him  away  when  the  other  wants 
him,  he  may  retaliate  by  taking  one  of  your  best  men, 
the  total  results  being  a  feeling  of  enmity  between  two 
employers,  and  two  workmen  receiving  mcreased  wages. 
If  an  employee  of  a  competitor  comes  to  you  looking 
for  a  place,  and  you  want  him,  it  is  best  to  say:  "I 
will  not  hire  you  while  in  Mr.  Blank's  employ;  if  you 
were  through  with  him,  I  should  be  glad  to  make  a 
place  for  you,  but  I  won't  do  anything  that  Mr.  Blank 
might  construe  to  be  unfair."  If  the  man  then  says 
that  he  will  give  Blank  a  fortnight's  notice,  you  will 
do  well  to  write  Blank  a  polite  note  stating  the  exact 
circumstances,  and  adding  that  you  want  the  man,  but 
will  not  take  him  if  objected  to  by  Mr.  Blank.  By 
this  course  you  will  probably  get  the  man,  as  Blank 
will  be  apt  to  conclude  that  if  the  man  wants  to 
change  it  would  be  unwise  to  try  and  keep  him,  and 
you  will  establish  a  reputation  for  fairness  with  Blank, 


128  COMPETITORS. 

which  should  be  to  the  advantage  of  both.  Other 
competitors  will  hear  of  it  and  decide  that  you  are  a 
square  man,  and  when  you  have  business  with  them 
you  will  fmd  that  they  trust  you. 

Always  try  to  help  out  a  competitor  when  he  is  in 
trouble,  as  from  breakdowns,  fire  or  strike.  Help  him 
get  out  his  work,  if  necessary,  lending  him  your  presses 
at  night,  and  assure  him  that  you  will  not  endeavor  to 
steal  his  customers  during  his  trouble,  thus  adding  to 
his  misfortune.  Do  not  think  that  by  doing  these 
things  you  are  making  sacrifices,  for  be  assured  that 
such  good  turns  will  pay  better  in  the  long  run  than 
will  any  small  meannesses  that  bring  in  present  cash, 
but  which  create  ill  will. 

Right  here  I  want  to  say  a  word  for  what  the 
Typothetae  is  doing  along  these  lines  of  developing 
good-fellowship  and  fraternal  feeling  among  employing 
printers.  There  ought  to  be  a  branch  of  the  organiza- 
tion in  every  city  of  over  15,000  population,  and  every 
reputable  printer  in  cities  where  a  local  organization 
exists  should  become  a  member  and  learn  to  work 
with  his  brother  printers  for  the  common  good.  We 
see  trusts  forming  on  every  hand,  because  in  so  many 
lines  of  trade  there  is  economy  in  the  coming  together 
of  the  houses  that  do  a  large  business.  A  trust  is 
impractical  in  the  printing  industry,  but  it  is  practical 
for  the- master  printers  to  get  together  and  work  together 
along  certain  lines.  This  is  the  work  that  the  Typoth- 
etse  has  laid  out  for  itself,  a  work  in  which  it  has 
accomplished  a  great  deal.  If  you  are  a  member  you 
know  its  benefits.  If  you  are  not,  do  not  remain 
without  and  decry  the  institution.  Do  not  be  a  croaker, 
saying:   "You   cannot  get    printers   to   stay   together; 


COMPETITORS.  I29 

they  will  talk  pleasantly  to  your  face,  and  then  go 
away  and  cut  you,"  and  so  on.  Ten  to  one  the  man 
who  talks  this  way  is  as  much  distrusted  by  his  fel- 
,low-printers  as  anybody  he  distrusts.  Be  manly,  and 
treat  your  fellow-craftsmen  like  honorable  men.  Put 
them  upon  their  honor,  and  you  will  find  them 
as  honorable  a  class  of  men  as  can  be  found  any- 
where. By  joining  the  Typothetae  you  put  yourself  in 
the  way  of  cultivating  the  spirit  of  fairness  in  competi- 
tion. 

I  know  members  of  the  Typothetae  who  will  never 
give  a  figure  on  a  large  job  that  bears  the  imprint  of 
another  Typothetae  member  without  first  consulting 
with  the  member  who  does  the  work.  I  know  another 
Typothetae  member,  who  after  doing  business  forty 
years  in  a  city,  and  receiving  a  testimonial  on  his  birth- 
day from  his  fellow  typotheters,  was  able  to  say  in 
response  that  his  heart  was  full  of  gratitude  to  find 
that  after  so  many  years  of  active  competition  in  one 
city  that  every  competitor  in  the  place  was  his  friend. 
I  know  another  Typothetae  member  who  has  repeatedly 
made  public  offers  to  give  a  portion  of  his  time  to 
any  beginner  in  business  to  assist  him  in  knowing  how 
to  charge  and  how  to  run  a  printing  office  successfully. 
He  does  not  claim  any  philanthropy  in  this,  saying  that 
he  does  it  because  he  objects  to  competing  with  igno- 
rance. I  will  not  pretend  that  such  men  as  I  have 
just  cited  are  the  rule,  but  the  fact  that  some  of  them 
have  been  developed  in  the  Typothetae  speaks  -vol- 
umes for  the  possibilities  of  the  organization  as  a 
means  ot  bringing  master  printers  together  for  the 
common  good. 

For  the  benefit  of  those  not  familiar  with  the  work- 


I^O  COMPETITORS. 

ings  of  a   Typothetse,    I  will   cite   the  objects  stated  in 

tile  incorporation  of  tlie  New  York  body  : 

To  foster  trade  and  commerce,  to  reform  abuses  in  trade, 
to  protect  trade  and  commerce  from  unjust  and  unlawful 
exactions,  to  diffuse  accurate  and  reliable  information  among 
its  members  as  to  the  standing  of  merchants,  to  acquire, 
preserve  and  disseminate  valuable  information  relating  to  the 
printing  interests  of  this  and  other  cities,  to  produce  uni- 
formity and  certainty  in  the  customs  and  usages  of  trade,  to 
settle  differences  between  its  members,  and  to  promote  a 
more  large  and  friendly  intercourse  between  printers  and 
between  merchants. 

Of  course  tlie  organization  serves  a  valuable  end  in 
offsetting  any  possible  aggressions  of  labor  organizations, 
which  in  their  zeal  for  their  own  interests  sometimes 
overlook  the  fact  that  employers  have  to  arrange  mat- 
ters to  make  a  profit.  But  it  also  presents  many  minor 
advantages,  among  which  may  be  cited  these,  taken 
from  a  New  York  Typothetse  circular: 

1.  Of  telephoning  or  writing  to  the  rooms  for  information 
as  to  the  credit  of  customers  who  have  dealt  with  other 
members. 

2.  Of  enquiring  for  further  particulars  as  to  any  names 
entered  on  the  list  of  undesirable  customers. 

3.  Of  sending  in  poor  accounts  for  collection.  No  charge 
if  no  collection  is  made,   10  per  cent,  if  collected. 

4.  Of  taking  books  from  the  library,  which  is  the  finest 
collection  of  works  on  printing  in  the  world. 

5.  Of  securing  names  from  the  register  of  desirable 
persons  as  superintendents,  foremen,  compositors,  pressmen, 
etc. 

6.  Of  entering  remonstrance  against  price-cutting  by  any 
member  of  the  trade. 

7.  Of  attending  a  lunch  given  without  charge  by  the 
Typothetae  at  every  regular  meeting,  and  affording  oppor- 
tunity for  increasing  social  acquaintance. 

8.  Of  using  the  rooms  for  business  appointments,  etc., 
at  any  time. 

At  this  date  the  Typothetse  has  local  organizations 
in  thirty-three  cities  of  the  United  States  and  Canada. 


COMPETITORS.  I^I 

It  has  existed  as  a  national  body  for  thirteen  years,  and 
has  developed  a  marvelous  capacity  for  usefulness  during 
that  period.  I  believe  that  the  printing  trade  is  just 
beginning  to  learn  the  advantages  of  co-operation,  and 
that  the  next  twenty  years  will  see  enormous  develop- 
ment along  these  lines.  Those  printers  who  are  the 
first  to  recognize  this,  joining  the  Typothetse,  and  work- 
ing for  co-operative  developement,  will  be  the  first  to 
reap  its  benefits. 

Those  who  would  profit  most  by  membership  in 
the  Typothetse  should  be  regular  attendants  at  the 
meetings,  and  workers  in  committee,  etc.,  for  thus  they 
keep  in  closest  touch  with  all  that  is  going  on  in  the 
trade,  and  are  best  able  to  shape  the  course  of  their 
own  business  to  meet  circumstances.  A  yet  further 
advantage  that  comes  to  members  who  are  active,  lies 
in  the  associations,  acquaintances  and  friendships  that 
develop  with  competing  printers.  We  are  all  too  prone 
to  think  that  our  competitors  are  mean  fellows,  but 
when  we  meet  them  in  the  Typothetae  and  become 
social,  we  often  discover  that  they  are  of  the  very  best 
sort,  and,  learning  to  trust  them,  we  are  able  to  nego- 
tiate understandings  that  are  mutually  advantageous. 
For  instance,  suppose  that  A,  B,  C  and  D  are  all  mem- 
bers of  the  Typothetse,  and  become  well  acquainted. 
Some  day  they  meet  on  the  business  of  a  committee. 
It  is  generally  known  that  each  of  the  four  does  prac- 
tically all  the  work  of  certain  large  commercial  concerns, 
and  that  if  any  one  were  to  lose  any  of  such  large 
customers,  that  the  work  would  probably  be  offered  to 
one  of  the  others  present.  A  says:  "Gentlemen,  I  have 
been  thinking  that  we  four  ought  to  have  enough 
confidence  in  each  other  by  this  time  to  know  that  we 


1 32  COMPETITORS. 

can  trust  any  one  of  our  number.  Now,  would  it  not 
be  a  sensible  thing  for  us  to  come  to  this  understanding: 
let  each  man  here  pledge  his  honor  that  he  will  not 
figure  on  any  of  the  large  work  now  being  done  by 
another  of  the  quartette,  without  first  having  a  talk 
with  him,  and  giving  opportunity  for  an  understanding 
that  will  prevent  us  from  cutting  each  other  .^"  All 
four  will  probably  see  the  force  of  the  argument,  and 
agree  to  the  conditions.  Such  an  arrangement  can  be 
made  only  where  personal  confidence  exists,  and  such 
personal  confidence  is  seldom  inspired  in  any  other  way 
than  through  acquaintance  developed  in  the  Typothetse. 

I  do  not  urge  these  things  with  a  view  that  a  com- 
bination of  printers  should  put  up  prices  on  the  public 
beyond  a  reasonable  figure,  because  I  know  that  to  be 
impossible  in  a  trade  that  suffers  from  so  much  com- 
petition. But  I  do  urge  that  master  printers  co-operate 
for  the  maintenance  of  fair  prices  that  will  yield  a  proper 
return  for  the  investment  of  money,  experience,  brains 
and  energy  essential  to  the  conduct  of  a  printing  plant. 
There  are  few  lines  of  business  that  require  at  once  so 
much  technical  knowledge  and  so  much  general  business 
sagacity  as  printing,  and  the  man  or  firm  that  has 
spent  years  in  acquiring  these  is  entitled  to  adequate 
returns. 

The  master  printer  who  has  an  established  business 
and  good  trade  should  protect  himself  from  loss  through 
the  competition  of  price  cutters  by  seeking  to  educate 
them  up  to  his  own  standard.  When  a  young  firm 
starts  in  business  it  is  very  common  for  them  to  seek 
work  by  offering  reduced  prices.  1  fear  that  it  is  the 
most  common  method  of  the  beginner  in  business. 
Under  such   circumstances   it   is   a    wise   thing  for  the 


COMPETITORS.  I}} 

proprietor  of  an  older  or  larger  printery  affected  by 
such  competition,  to  invite  a  conference  with  the  young 
firm,  and  to  show  them  exactly  what  printing  costs, 
and  why  they  are  injuring  the  trade  as  well  as  them- 
selves. There  are  times  when  it  may  even  pay  to  farm 
out  work  to  a  competitor  who  insists  on  doing  printing 
below  cost.  If  a  young  firm  are  offering  to  do  press- 
work  that  is  worth  $1.50  per  1,000  impressions  for 
only  $1  per  1,000,  and  a  neighboring  large  printer  gives 
them  an  order  from  his  place,  and  after  concluding  the 
contract  says:  "I  give  this  to  you  because  1  find  that 
you  will  do  it  25  per  cent,  cheaper  than  I  can  turn  it 
out  in  my  pressroom,  and  I  propose  to  save  that  and 
let  you  wear  out  your  presses."  Such  talk,  backed  up 
with  the  orders,  will  often  set  the  newcomers  in 
business  to  figuring,  with  the  result  that  they  learn  a 
thing  or  two,  and  are  educated  to  a  higher  plane. 

I  believe  that  Benjamin  Franklin  was  the  first  Ameri- 
can printer  to  adopt  the  theory  of  treating  a  competi- 
tor with  absolute  fairness.  When  he  began  publishing 
a  newspaper  in  Philadelphia,  his  competitor  and  prede- 
cessor in  the  field  controlled  the  post-office,  and  used 
the  mail  carriers  for  the  delivery  of  his  own  sheet,  but 
denied  the  service  to  Franklin.  When,  in  the  course 
of  events,  Franklin  came  to  control  the  post-office,  he 
accorded  to  his  rival  the  same  privilege  that  he  then 
enjoyed  for  the  first  time  for  his  own  newspaper.  The 
public  like  to  see  fairness  in  business,  and  they  will 
avoid  patronizing  a  mean  man.  Franklin  understood 
this  and  so  should  every  man  of  types. 

A  good  motto  for  every  employing  printer  would  be 
this  paraphrase  of  the  Golden  Rule  :  "  Treat  your  com- 
petitor as  you  would  have  him  treat  you." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

PROFIT,    AND   HOW  IT  SHOULD   BE   FIGURED. 

The  object  of  doing  business  is  to  make  a  profit. 
The  man  who  confuses  profit  with  salary  earned  makes 
a  mistake,  for  every  man  who  has  the  ability  to  run  a 
business  can  command  a  good  salary  without  risking 
any  money  in  trade.  The  printer  embarks  in  business 
and  takes  the  risks  in  order  to  earn  more  than  a  salary. 
The  man  who  gets  only  a  salary  out  of  his  business 
earns  no  profits;  usually  he  is  even  less  independent 
than  the  man  on  salary,  for  in  every  customer  he  has 
a  master,  instead  of  the  one  master  he  would  have  if 
employed.  To  get  at  real,  actual,  net  profit,  it  is  nec- 
essary to  allow  a  sufficient  interest  on  the  capital,  and  six 
per  cent,  has  been  commonly  regarded  as  the  proper 
allowance  for  the  use  of  such  capital.  In  the  printing 
business  it  is  also  essential  to  make  allowance  for  the 
replacing  of  the  type  every  five  or  six  years,  and  of  the 
presses  every  ten  to  twenty  years. 

It  is  not  really  very  difficult  to  figure  out  these  things^ 
and  thus  discover  when  there  is  a  real  profit,  yet  a 
vast  number  of  master  printers  never  go  into  such 
details,  and  are  prone  to  deceive  themselves  in  such 
fashion  as  this:  **My  books  show  that  I  have  drawn 
$2,000  this  year,  and  have  $200  more  in  the  bank  than 
a   year   ago,  and   an    excess   of  $300   balance   of  good 


PROFIT,    AND    HOW    IT   SHOULD   BE    FIGURED.  13^ 

accounts  receivable,  as  against  the  balance  last  year, 
and  have  bought  $700  worth  of  new  material;  therefore 
I  have  made  $3,200  this  year  in  clear  profits — not  a  bad 
showing  on  a  business  in  which  I  have  $13,000  in- 
vested— in  fact  it  is  just  21  Ys  per  cent." 

Such  talk  is  very  plausible,  but  may  be  entirely 
deceptive.  On  such  a  showing  a  plant  may  be  losing 
considerable  money  instead  of  paying  a  profit;  let  us 
look  at  the  details:  In  the  first  place,  a  man  who  can 
run  a  $15,000  plant  successfully  is  worth  $2,000  salary. 
He  can  get  such  a  figure  in  almost  any  large  city  in  the 
country,  so  we  must  charge  off  against  the  cash  sur- 
plus as  follows: 

Salary  of  proprietor, $2,000 

Six  per  cent,  interest  on  $15,000,    .  900 

To  keep  plant  up-to-date  and  serviceable,  1,500 

To  maxe  up  balance  of  depreciation,        .  750 

Total, $5,^50 

Per  contra — 

Cash  drawn,      .       , $2,000 

Cash  in  bank, 200 

Balance  on  books, 300 

New  material  added, 700 

Total, $3,200 

This  shows  an  actual  loss  for  the  year  of      .       .         $1,950 

These  figures  exhibit  what  may  be  the  cold  facts  in 
such  a  case.  It  is  very  natural  for  a  printer  proprietor 
to  assume,  from  the  fact  of  his  cash  balance  having 
increased,  that  he  is  making  money;  but  there  comes  a 
time  when  he  must  replace  his  machinery  and  renew 
his  type,  and  if  he  has  not  provided  for  this  from  year 
to  year,  he  will  learn  in  due  course  that  he  has  had  no 
actual  profits,  for  he  will  have  no  money  with  which 
to  replenish  and  continue  business. 


136  PROFIT,    AND   HOW   IT   SHOULD   BE   FIGURED. 

How  is  the  printer  to  avoid  this  misleading  of  him- 
self? How  is  he  to  know  that  he  really  is  or  is  not 
making  a  profit  ?  Only  by  keeping  in  exact  touch 
with  the  condition  of  his  plant,  and  learning  just  what 
it  is  worth  every  year,  and  discriminating  carefully 
between  gross  profit  and  net  profit,  can  he  be  sure  that 
he  is  making  money.  He  must  always  bear  in  mind 
that  the  gross  profit  is  not  the  real,  actual  profit.  It 
is  only  after  making  the  deductions  stated  above  that 
one  can  get  at  the  net  profit,  which  is  the  actual 
thing. 

In  order  not  to  be  misled  in  calculating  profits  the 
printer  should  be  very  careful  in  estimating  and  placing 
valuation  on  plant  and  material.  As  soon  as  type  or 
presses  are  placed  in  use  or  operation  there  is  a  depre- 
ciation in  selling  value.  It  would  cost  the  original 
price  to  replace  the  material,  yet  it  has  lost  in  intrinsic 
value.  Sold  under  the  hammer  it  would  bring  less 
than  half  the  price  recently  paid.  This  condition  makes 
it  very  difficult  to  decide  upon  a  precise  valuation. 
The  methods  of  calculating  depreciation  vary  almost  as 
much  as  the  men  who  make  them.  From  the  very 
nature  of  the  case,  there  can  be  no  exact  method  of 
determining  the  loss  to  printing  material  by  wear  and 
tear,  want  of  use,  lack  of  modernness,  etc.  Some  houses 
will  charge  all  small  type  bills — as  for  sorts,  or  for  type 
ordered  for  a  special  job — to  the  general  expense  account, 
on  the  principle  that  such  purchases  are  a  necessary 
and  continually  recurring  item,  amounting  to  about  so 
much  for  so  many  thousand  dollars  worth  of  business. 
This  method  may  be  a  good  one  in  so  far  as  it  assists 
in  obtaining  a  true  idea  of  profit  in  the  yearly  balance; 
but  it  is  bad  in  that  it  leads  to  charging  all  jobs  with 


PROFIT,    AND   HOW   IT   SHOULD   BE    FIGURED.  1 37 

a  percentage  of  the  cost  of  sorts,  etc.,  that  are  required 
for  only  a  certain  proportion  of  the  jobs. 

My  own  idea  is  that  type  bought  on  purpose  for 
a  piece  of  work  should  have  half  its  value  marked  off 
and  charged  to  the  job,  and  that  new  type  that  has 
steady  use  in  an  office  should  be  marked  off  25  per 
cent,  in  value  as  soon  as  it  is  in  the  case  and  in  gen- 
eral use.  Machinery  also  depreciates  rapidly,  though  it 
wears  longer  than  the  type.  There  are  nowadays  so 
many  improvements  made  in  presses  that  it  often 
becomes  desirable  to  discard  machines  before  they  are 
half  worn  out.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  see  cylinders 
sold  for  §300  or  $400  that  were  once  worth  $1,500  to 
$2,300,  and  which  are  yet  good  machines,  their  only 
fault  being  that  as  money  earners  they  cannot  compete 
with  the  latest  products  of  the  manufacturers.  All  these 
things  must  be  allowed  for  in  calculating  depreciation, 
and  while  in  sixteen  years  nearly  all  the  value  must  be 
figured  off  a  machine,  yet  in  some  cases  its  value  would 
depreciate  to  nearly  nothing  in  half  that  period,  and  in 
others  it  might  retain  considerable  value  for  a  much 
longer  time.  Existing  conditions  must  be  considered  in 
placing  the  value  of  machinery  and  calculating  its  de- 
preciation. If  a  press  builder  makes  a  cut  in  price  of 
fifteen  per  cent,  users  of  his  machines  must  figure  off 
the  equivalent  not  only  from  the  presses  of  his  make  that 
they  are  using,  but  from  makes  that  come  into  com- 
petition, and  which  are  certain  to  be  affected  by  the  cut 
in  cost  price. 

There  may  be  those  who  think  that  careful  calculation 
of  depreciation  is  unimportant,  as  affecting  only  the 
interest  on  the  amount  involved.  In  other  words,  they 
think  that  if  a  plant  is  placed  at  a  valuation  of  $10,000 


138  PROFIT,    AND   HOW   IT  SHOULD   BE   FIGURED. 

or  of  $8,000  in  a  balance  sheet,  the  difference  involved 
is  only  a  question  of  earning  interest  on  $2,000.  This 
is  a  wrong  view.  The  printer  has  to  deal  here  with 
principal  and  not  with  interest.  If  he  overvalues  his 
plant  by  $1,000  as  compared  with  the  previous  year, 
he  deludes  himself  as  to  $i,oco  of  profit  or  non-profit 
for  that  year.  If  a  plant  is  overvalued  for  a  series  of 
years  it  presents  on  the  books  a  misstatement  of  the 
profits  during  that  period,  since  the  excess  of  valuation 
must  be  divided  amongst,  and  deducted  from,  the  gross 
profits  of  those  years  to  show  the  net  or  real  profits. 
Depreciation  must  come  out  some  time  in  actual  cash, 
and  if  it  is  not  figured  out  at  proper  times  the  printer 
thinks  that  he  is  making  more  money  than  he  really 
is,  and  is  led  to  take  work  too  cheaply,  to  the  eventual 
ruin  of  his  whole  business.  The  danger  of  such  a 
result  is  present  with  every  master  printer  who  does 
not  keep  a  watchful  eye  on  the  manner  in  which  he 
figures  his  profits.  How  many,  many,  printing  houses 
we  have  all  seen  go  to  the  wall  very  largely  through 
this  misunderstanding  as  to  what  were  the  actual  profits! 
It  is  a  pitfall  that  threatens  every  beginner  in  business, 
and  I  cannot  too  strongly  urge  upon  such  the  necessity 
of  exercising  extreme  care  to  avoid  self  delusion  as  to 
real  earnings.  Unless  a  printer  can  make  a  correct 
balance  at  the  end  of  each  year — or  oftener — he  cannot 
know  what  are  his  profits,  or  whether  there  are  any 
profits,  until  a  period  of  years  have  gone  by,  when  the 
lack  of  means  to  keep  up  his  material  will  tell  him  the 
story  only  too  plainly — and  then  it  may  be  too  late  to 
save  things  by  the  knowledge  that  should  have  been  his 
during  the  regular  progress  of  his  business. 

When   a   man   puts  $15,000  into  a   printing    plant. 


PROFIT,    AND   HOW  IT  SHOULD   BE   FIGURED.  1 39 

and  works  that   plant  for  ten   years,  to  come  out  even 
he  should  get  back  out  of  it: 

An  adequate  salary; 

Six  per  cent,  for  interest; 

A  sum  to  keep  his  plant  up-to-date,  which 
amounts  to  an  additional  ten  per  cent. ;  and 

A  sinking  fund,  which  together  with  the  mar- 
ket value  of  the  plant,  will  be  equal  to  the 
original  investment,  and  represents  five  per  cent. 

And  to  come  out  ahead,  which  is  the  object 
of  doing  business,  for  which  the  risks  are  taken, 
he  should  get  an  additional  profit,  and 

Ten  per  cent,  on  the  original  investment 
ought  to  be  little  enough. 

This  is  not  an  extravagant  statement,  but  expresses 
very  moderately  what  should  be  the  actual  results. 

Such  a  plant  as  that  referred  to,  representing  an 
original  cost  of  $15,000,  should  yield  in  ten  years  $66,500 
of  gross  profits ;  that  is : 

$20,000  salary; 
9,000  interest; 

15,000  to  keep  the  plant  up-to-date; 
7,500  to  make  up  balance  of  depreciation,  and 
15,000  profit. 

Divided  by  years  this  is  $6,650  a  year  of  gross 
profits.  If  the  printer  finds  that  he  is  not  getting  such 
a  return  out  of  his  business,  he  should  find  out  at  once 
why  he  is  not  securing  the  profits  that  are  rightly  his, 
and  either  arrange  to  make  such  a  profit  or  admit  to 
himself  that  he  has  not  the  capacity  to  make  his  plant 
do  any  more  than  pay  him  a  salary. 

A  knowledge  of  the  cost  of  producing  printing  is 
requisite  to  the  earning  of  profits,  and  a  careful    study 


140  PROFIT,    AND   HOW   IT   SHOULD   BE   FIGURED. 

of  the  chapter  devoted  to  that  subject  is  recommended 
to  the  readers  of  this  book.  Let  the  master  printer 
always  remember  that  while  actual  cost  includes  salary, 
interest,  etc.,  yet  that  the  price  to  the  customer  must 
always  bear  an  extra  margin  to  allow  for  the  profit. 
There  may  have  been  a  time  when  printers  were  simply 
workmen  looking  for  days'  wages,  and  when  a  profit 
was  not  considered  necessary  so  long  as  a  living  was 
earned;  but  that  day  was  before  the  introduction  of 
improved  machinery.  A  cobbler  or  a  barber  can  afford 
to  work  for  wages  where  no  capital  worth  mentioning 
is  risked  in  the  business,  but  the  printer  of  the  twentieth 
century  finds  it  absolutely  essential  to  invest  a  large 
amount  of  money  in  perishable  goods  in  order  to  produce 
good  printing  economically,  and  only  by  making  a 
positive  profit  from  every  job  can  he  hope  to  be  a  gainer 
in  the  long  run. 

The  printer  who  neglects  to  charge  a  profit  on  side 
lines  is  simply  doing  work  for  others  for  nothing. 
Why  should  he  take  orders  for  engraving,  binding,  ruling, 
paper  stock,  etc.,  and  furnish  the  capital  or  credit  to 
secure  them,  without  charging  for  the  risk  and  labor 
involved  ?  A  part  of  the  general  expense  of  a  printing 
office  is  properly  chargeable  to  such  side  lines,  and  they 
should  also  bear  a  percentage  for  error,  accident,  insur- 
ance, etc.  If  an  office  does  $100,000  worth  of  business 
in  a  year,  and  $10,000  goes  for  office  salaries,  collecting, 
bad  bills,  etc.,  a  proportion  of  this  $10,000  should  be 
borne  by  the  work  that  is  done  outside.  If  the  $100,000 
of  work  represents  $20,000  of  paper  and  $10,000  worth 
of  binding,  ruling,  engraving  and  electrotyping,  we  should 
then  charge  $3,000,  which  is  ten  per  cent,  against  this 
outside   work  to   cover  cost,    and   when   we   add   the 


PROFIT,    AND   HOW    IT   SHOULD   BE   FIGURED.  I4I 

profit,  fifteen  per  cent,  or  $4, 500  is  little  enough.  The 
printer  cannot  afford  to  figure  to  get  less  than  fifteen 
per  cent,  out  of  these  outside  lines.  Since  it  is  not 
practical  to  charge  more  than  ten  per  cent,  advance  on 
large  orders  for  paper,  it  becomes  necessary  to  charge 
more  than  fifteen  per  cent,  on  small  orders  to  secure 
the  proper  average  margin  on  all  outside  work.  On 
items  of  $5  and  under,  an  advance  of  twenty-five  per 
cent,  or  even  more  is  proper,  because  there  is  always 
some  extra  time  and  bother  attached  that  cannot  be 
charged  for  directly,  but  which  must  be  made  up  in 
some  way. 

Few  printers  will  neglect  to  add  the  charge  of  five 
per  cent,  to  paper  to  cover  waste,  because  that  is  a 
direct  expense  that  must  be  paid  for  in  advance  by 
buying  more  paper  than  has  to  be  delivered  on  the 
finished  job.  Five  per  cent,  for  waste  may  be  a  little 
high  for  long  runs  on  plain  work,  but  it  is  too  little  on 
color  work  or  short  runs.  But  because  the  handling 
of  paper  is  an  indirect  expense,  many  printers  neglect 
to  charge  the  extra  ten  or  fifteen  per  cent,  for  buying 
and  carrying,  and  being  responsible  for  it.  Because  the 
expense  is  indirect,  it  is  none  the  less  real,  and  must 
be  met  and  paid  for  in  the  long  run.  If  customers 
object  to  paying  this  percentage  on  the  cost  price  of 
the  paper,  it  is  well  to  remind  them  that  they  are  getting 
the  benefit  of  the  printer's  knowledge,  as  well  as  shift- 
ing upon  him  certain  risks.  If  the  customer  buys  direct 
of  a  paper  dealer  he  may  save  a  few  cents  on  a  ream, 
only  to  learn  that  he  has  selected  a  grade  of  paper 
that  involves  a  greater  charge  for  presswork,  as  do 
some  plate  papers;  or  the  customer  may  commit  the 
error   of   buying    paper  to   size,   when   the    presswork 


142  PROFIT,    AND  HOW  IT  SHOULD  BE   FIGURED. 

requires  that  it  be  bought  double  size,  thus  doubling 
the  number  of  impressions  he  has  to  pay  for.  Blunders 
of  this  sort  are  avoided  when  the  prmter  does  the  buying, 
and  a  little  judicious  explanation  of  these  points  will 
show  the  customer  who  wants  to  buy  close  that  it  is 
as  well  to  pay  the  printer's  advance  on  such  side  lines, 
and  thus  iuisure  the  quality  and  correctness  of  the  product. 

In  engraving  and  electrotyping  work,  the  printer 
almost  invariably  is  called  upon  to  give  a  portion  of 
his  knowledge  to  the  benefit  of  the  work,  and  he  is 
entitled  to  his  pay  therefor.  While  fifteen  per  cent,  is 
the  ordinary  advance  to  be  charged  the  customer  on 
these  lines,  there  are  times  when  it  is  proper  to  charge 
much  more.  Suppose,  for  instance,  that  the  engraving 
is  of  an  elegant  grade,  requiring  careful  choice  of  the 
best  methods  of  drawing,  photographing,  processing, 
selection  of  paper  and  ink,  etc.,  then  the  printer  who 
oversees  all  these  items,  and  makes  them  harmonious, 
is  entitled  to  charge  a  further  advance.  Remember 
that  this  advance  should  represent  more  than  a  return 
for  the  extra  labor;  it  should  include  an  extra  profit, 
for  without  that  profit  the  printer  has  no  business  to 
bother  with  these  side  lines. 

The  printer  should  ever  bear  in  mind  that  the  time 
to  make  a  profit  on  work  is  always  7iow.  Deferring  a 
profit  IS  simply  a  way  of  losing  a  profit. 

Knowing  what  cost  is,  and  what  is  requisite  to  the 
production  of  profit,  it  only  remains  for  the  printer 
who  would  be  successful  to  see  to  it  that  the  profit  is 
never  sacrificed  on  the  work  going  out  of  his  establish- 
ment. By  following  this  rule  he  has  a  sure  thing,  but 
in  order  to  follow  it,  he  requires  to  know  what  is  cost 
and  what  is  profit. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

BUYING. 

One  way  of  adding  to  the  earnings  of  a  printing 
office  is  to  buy  with  judgment.  We  all  know  printers 
who  habitually  pay  five  to  ten  per  cent,  more  than  they 
should  for  the  goods  they  buy,  through  pure  shiftless- 
ness,  never  looking  about  for  closer  prices,  and  never 
discounting  a  bill  to  get  the  lowest  figure.  Though 
they  pay  the  highest  prices,  yet  their  custom  is  not 
sought  by  dealers,  as  they  are  slow  pay — they  cannot 
well  be  otherwise — for  they  make  so  little  that  they 
are  always  behindhand  with  everything.  There  are 
printers  of  a  better  grade,  who  do  good  work  and 
make  a  profit  thereon,  but  who  have  no  talent  for 
buying,  accepting  almost  anything  that  a  glib  salesman 
chooses  to  talk  off  to  them.  They  buy  stock  that 
they  do  not  need,  because  they  are  told  that  **this  is 
a  job  lot,"  and  then  the  stock  lies  on  their  hands  a  long 
while,  and  is  finally  worked  off  at  a  loss. 

The  master  printer  in  doing  $10,000  worth  of 
business  usually  spends  $5,000  for  labor,  $2,500  for 
stock,  and  $1,500  for  other  matters;  in  other  words  he 
buys  nine-tenths  as  much  as  he  sells,  and  therefore  he 
should  exercise  as  much  care  in  buying  to  get  a  profit  as 
in  selling  to  get  a  profit,  else  he  cannot  compete  success- 
fully with  others  who  are  careful  buyers.     In  purchasing 


144  BUYING. 

labor  he  should  seek  not  to  buy  it  cheaply  but  to  get  that 
which  is  best  for  his  work.  A  three-dollar-a-day  man  is 
often  cheaper  than  another  man  at  two  dollars.  Of  course 
no  employer^  can  afford  to  give  all  his  profits  to  his 
men,  but  he  can  afford  to  be  liberal  with  those  who 
appreciate  liberality  and  work  to  give  him  results.  That 
is  the  kind  of  labor  to  buy.  This  feature  is  dealt  with 
more  fully  in  the  chapter  on  ''Management  of  Employ- 
ees." Just  now  we  are  concerned  only  with  the  actual 
buying  of  labor,  and  endeavoring  to  emphasize  the  point 
that  here  a  wise  economy  calls  for  quality  first  and  price 
later.  Where  the  matter  of  wages  is  regulated  by  union 
scales  that  it  is  unwise  to  interfere  with,  judgment  is 
called  for  in  the  selection  of  good  workers,  and  the 
ability  to  pick  out  men  of  the  right  sort  is  quite  as 
valuable  as  the   capacity  for  keeping  them  engaged. 

The  buying  of  paper  stock  calls  for  wide  experience. 
A  paper  which  superficially  appears  to  match  another 
is  sometimes  a  very  inferior  article.  A  buyer  of  stock 
must  have  more  than  a  common  knowledge  of  sizes, 
weights  and  qualities.  He  should  have  means  of  know- 
ing when  a  paper  is  up  to  weight  or  when  it  falls  off 
so  as  to  guard  against  errors.  A  good  pair  of  scales 
will  soon  pay  for  themselves  in  almost  any  printing 
office  just  by  detecting  errors  in  weights.  It  is  not 
good  business  to  assume  because  your  paper  dealer  is 
honest,  that  clerks  who  sell  the  goods  by  the  marks, 
will  always  furnish  you  with  the  weight  and  quality 
billed;  the  right  way  is  to  have  a  system  of  proving 
what  you  get,  which  serves  as  insurance,  protecting  all 
concerned. 

When  we  bear  in  mind  that  paper  costs  all  the  way 
from  two  cents  to  fifty  cents  a   pound,  that  the  sizes 


BUYING.  145 

are  arbitrary,  and  that  the  names  are  often  of  not 
positively  established  meaning,  and  that  the  quality  put 
into  a  grade  may  vary  slightly  with  each  mill  producing 
that  paper,  we  must  recognize  what  an  uncertain  quan- 
tity paper  is,  and  how  much  judgment  the  buyer  must 
exercise.  While  it  is  desirable  to  buy  close  and  take 
advantage  of  occasional  bargains,  it  is  safest  to  place 
large  orders  with  concerns  of  established  reputation, 
rather  than  to  seek  lower  prices  from  those  of  whose 
responsibility  you  know  nothing,  since  it  is  always 
possible  for  the  latter  to  take  an  order  at  any  price 
necessary  to  get  the  job,  and  then  to  fill  it  with  some- 
thing that  can  be  furnished  at  that  time  for  a  profit. 

The  printer  should  be  very  careful  in  buying  large 
lots  of  paper,  with  which  he  has  little  experience,  to  be 
used  with  special  inks.  It  sometimes  happens  that  the 
paper  and  ink  are  not  adapted  to  each  other,  and  if 
this  is  not  discovered  until  the  last  mon^ent,  when  the 
job  is  on  press,  and  paper  or  ink  has  to  be  changed, 
there  is  a  resultant  loss  of  time  of  men  and  machines, 
cartage,  etc.,  that  may  be  serious.  Whenever  a  job 
involves  bringing  together  any  paper  and  ink  whose 
adaptability  is  not  known,  such  should  be  fullv  estab- 
lished before  making  the  purchase  of  either  the  ink  or 
the  paper. 

Very  few  printers  are  judges  of  the  value  of  inks. 
Only  a  considerable  experience  with  a  grade  of  ink  will 
show  the  printer  about  what  it  is  worth  to  him;  he 
cannot  know  that  the  quality  of  a  grade  has  been 
reduced  until  after  he  has  stocked  up  with  and  used 
an  inferior  lot  of  it.  The  best  way  is  to  buy  of  a  reli- 
able house,  have  them  adapt  their  inks  to  your  papers, 
and  give  them   your  trade  as  long  as  they  serve  you 


146  BUYING. 

reasonably  and    acceptably.     Avoid   buying  job  lots  of 
ink;  they  are  seldom  cheap. 

In  buying  type,  the  average  printer  requires  to  ex- 
ercise more  care  against  his  own  weaknesses  than 
against  the  founder's  desire  to  make  money  out  of 
him.  Buy  large  fonts  and  in  series  in  preference  to 
small  fonts  and  odd  lots.  If  possible,  buy  your  type 
iit  considerable  intervals,  and  in  large  lots,  rather  than 
in  small  driblets,  a  little  every  month,  as  by  the  former 
method  you  are  more  certain  of  securing  everything  in 
harmony. 

Never  buy  second-hand  type;  it  is  dear  at  any  price. 

In  purchasing  machinery,  consider  first  its  adapta- 
bility to  the  work  in  view.  It  is  a  waste  to  buy  a  four- 
roller  press  for  cheap  newspaper  work;  but  a  press 
that  IS  cheap  may  not  be  suited  to  turning  out  a  cheap 
grade  of  work,  if  it  be  also  slow.  Having  decided  on 
the  sort  of  presses  you  need,  try  and  make  your  choice 
on  your  own  judgment  rather  than  on  the  arguments 
•of  those  who  want  to  sell  you  a  particular  machine. 
.If  you  are  favorably  inclined  toward  a  machine  but  do 
mot  know  its  points  thoroughly,  and  are  conscious  that 
you  are  not  fully  aware  of  its  merits  and  demerits,  go 
and  talk  with  one  or  two  unbiased  parties  who  juse 
similar  machines.  Thus  you  will  protect  yourself  Re- 
member that  it  is  the  salesman's  business  to  sell  you  a 
certain  press,  but,  that  it  is  your  business  to  buy  what  is 
best  for  you.  Always  give  the  preference  to  makers 
of  reputation  and  standing,  and  beware  of  being  the 
first  to  try  a  new  machine.  It  may  turn  out  to  be  a 
good  thing,  but  the  chances  are  that  the  first  machine 
or  two  of  a  new  kind  will  bother  the  purchasers  more 
than  they  save  them. 


BUYING.  147 

The  printer  who  is  well  up  in  machinery,  and  who 
perhaps  has  personal  knowledge  of  the  condition  of  a 
certain  press  that  is  second-hand,  may  often  find  a 
bargain  in  presses  that  have  been  used.  But,  unless 
you  are  very  sure  of  what  you  are  getting,  the  new 
machines,  with  a  guarantee  from  a  reliable  maker,  are 
the  best  to  buy. 

Care  should  be  exercised  to  avoid  purchasing  any- 
thing that  is  going  out  of  use,  as  type  that  is  out  of 
fashion,  machines  that  are  no  longer  built  or  that  are 
being  superseded  by  improved  styles,  paper  that  may 
not  be  in  regular  demand,  etc.  By  reading  the  trade 
papers  and  keepmg  up  with  the  progress  of  the  art  a 
printer  may  qualify  himself  to  exercise  a  correct  judg- 
ment as  to  when  the  value  of  anythmg  is  depreciating 
from  lack  of  use,  and  thus  guard  against  stocking  up 
with  articles  that  are  not  up-to-date. 

There  is  only  one  good  way  to  buy,  and  that  is  for 
cash.  In  all  lines  the  cash  will  secure  discounts  that  are 
greater  than  the  six  per  cent,  value  of  borrowed  money, 
because  the  man  who  sells  has  to  charge  credit  customers 
for  collections,  etc.  Discounts  of  from  two  to  twenty- 
five  per  cent,  are  continually  offered  the  printer  for 
prompt  cash,  yet  it  is  believed  that  a  large  majority  of 
printers  fail  to  avail  themselves  of  these  discounts,  in 
which  there  is  just  as  much  profit  as  there  may  be  in 
the  work  they  handle.  Where  is  the  sense  in  a  printer's 
buying  $1,000  worth  of  labor,  paper,  ink  and  incidentals 
for  a  customer,  to  make  ten  per  cent.,  and  beggaring 
himself  so  that  he  loses  discounts  to  the  amount  of 
$100.?  Yet  many  a  printer  will  grab  at  the  $1,000 
job,  giving  long  credit  thereon,  and  hustling  to  get  it 
out,  and  never  give  any  special    attention  to  the  losses 


1^8  BUYING. 

he  sustains  from  not  being  able  to  discount  his  bills.  It 
is  not  too  broad  an  assertion  to  state  that  the  printer 
who  has  the  cash  can  average  to  save  $50  to  $100  on 
every  $1,000  he  spends,  as  compared  with  the  printer 
who  has  to  ask  long  time  and  who  gives  notes. 

The  printer  requires  to  be  careful  not  to  buy  beyond 
his  immediate  needs.  A  sudden  rush  of  work  may 
cause  him  to  think  that  he  requires  a  new  cylinder,  but 
by  the  time  it  arrives  the  rush  may  be  over,  and  he 
will  be  tempted  to  go  out  and  cut  prices  to  get  work, 
thus  damaging  trade  generally  to  get  the  money  to 
pay  for  a  machine  for  which  he  does  not  have  real  use. 
Unless  there  is  a  certainty  that  the  work  is  there  for  a 
machine  it  is  much  better  to  take  care  of  a  rush  of 
work  by  either  putting  on  a  night  force  or  turning  some 
orders  over  to  a  neighboring  printer  on  whom  you  can 
depend. 

There  is  a  science  in  knowing  when  to  be  liberal 
and  when  to  be  close  in  buying.  When  paper  stock 
or  machinery  are  on  some  one's  hands,  and  hard  to 
move,  the  holder  may  accept  an  exceedingly  low  offer. 
At  other  times,  the  printer  who  tries  to  buy  too  closely 
may  overreach  himself,  for  if  his  trade  affords  no  profit, 
good  houses  will  avoid  him,  and  he  is  forced  to  deal 
with  the  irresponsible  and  to  accept  poor  service.  Those 
who  sell  to  the  trade  must  have  a  fair  profit  as  well 
as  the  printer,  and  it  is  not  good  economy  to  try  and 
deprive  them  of  such  profit;  the  real  economy  consists 
in  buying  only  what  you  have  use  for,  at  a  fair  price, 
and  with  all  the  discounts  that  cash  will  bring. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

DOING   GOOD   PRINTING. 

While  this  book  is  designed  to  treat  only  of  the 
business  or  money-making  side  of  the  printing  industry, 
and  not  of  the  technical  side  of  the  art.  yet  it  is  so 
imperative  that  the  successful  printer  should  do  good 
printing  that  a  chapter  on  this  topic  seems  requisite  to 
rounding  out  the  subject  completely.  It  is  assumed 
throughout  that  the  readers  are  good  printers,  who  know 
their  trades  properly — anyway  it  is  not  the  writer's 
mission  to  teach  the  intricacies  of  composition  and  press- 
work.  Yet,  there  are  many  pointers  as  to  the  doing  of 
high  grade  work,  that  are  of  a  semi-business  nature, 
involving  the  policy  of  an  establishment,  and  these  it  is 
desired  to  discuss  at  this  writing. 

To  do  a  high  grade  of  work  the  printer  must  have: 
First,  selected  men,  who  are  each  and  all  specially  good 
in  their  respective  lines.  With  superior  taste  in  com- 
position, accurate  make-up  and  proof-reading,  and 
pressmen  who  know  their  trade  thoroughly,  we  have  all 
the  essentials  of  perfect  workmanship.  Second,  a  red 
tape  system  of  passing  upon  or  approving  each  feature 
of  a  job  as  it  progresses  through  the  establishment. 
This  greatly  reduces  the  vexation  and  loss  incident  to 
errors,  not  only  typographical,  but  in  number  of  sheets, 
character  of  stock,  etc.     Third,  inks  furnished  appropriate 


150  DOING   GOOD   PRINTING. 

to  the  papers  employed,  and  good  rollers  supplied  as 
wanted.  Without  these  the  pressman  is  powerless. 
Fourth,  a  relentless  system  of  discarding  poor  or  spoiled 
sheets.  Even  one  per  cent,  of  poor  sheets  delivered  to 
a  customer  detracts  seriously  from  a  high  class  job. 
Fifth,  the  maintenance  of  a  good  summer  temperature 
in  the  pressroom.  It  is  not  right  to  expect  good  results 
unless  this  is  furnished.  Sixth,  an  intelligent  super- 
vision of  the  whole  establishment,  to  insure  harmony 
between  departments,  and  keep  everything  running 
smoothly.  Seventh,  the  proper  material  and  machinery. 
With  all  these  a  high  class  output  is  assured;  while 
with  any  one  of  them  lacking,  an  inferiority  in  production 
is  always  likely. 

The  printer  who  would  be  successful  must  bear  in 
mind  that  he  cannot  put  himself  in  the  position  of 
being  able  to  do  the  best  work  at  a  minimum  of  cost 
unless  he  provides  the  best  material.  If  he  starts  in 
with  an  old  plant  he  is  seriously  handicapped,  for  he  is 
virtually  obliged  to  give  customers  old  type-faces  when 
new  ones  are  preferable;  or  he  may  be  unable  to  give 
perfect  register  on  color  jobs  with  old  and  worn 
machines.  The  highest  touches  of  the  art  are  only 
possible  to  the  concern  that  can  furnish  the  latest  and 
best  products  of  the  foundry,  and  print  them  on  up- 
to-date  presses.  In  striving  to  do  the  best  work  the 
printer  will  find  himself  severely  handicapped  if  he  has 
not  such  an  equipment. 

The  retaining  of  some  man  of  superior  taste  to 
direct  the  character  of  the  work  is  an  essential  some- 
times overlooked.  I  have  yet  to  learn  of  an  establish- 
ment that  has  secured  a  reputation  for  fine  work  that 
did   not  include   in    its  personnel  some   one  peculiarly 


DOING  GOOD   PRINTING.  13I 

gifted  with  artistic  sense,  to  control  and  dictate  the  style 
and  quality  of  the  output.  Such  a  man  must  possess 
characteristics  of  originality,  and  an  appreciation  of  that 
which  is  really  good  art  in  printing.  If  the  proprietor 
of  an  office  recognizes  that  he  has  not  these  qualities, 
he  should,  if  possible,  secure  the  services  of  some  one 
who  has  such  capacity.  At  the  same  time  he  must  be 
careful  not  to  let  his  artist-printer  run  away  with  him 
in  zeal  for  the  production  of  the  beautiful.  The  printer 
who  becomes  so  engrossed  in  the  execution  of  fine 
work  that  he  forgets  that  he  is  doing  it  for  a  profit, 
may  be  a  true  artist,  but  he  cannot  make  money. 
The  business  management  should  be  such  that  superior 
taste  and  ingenuity  in  printing  may  be  available  at  all 
times  to  the  customer,  but  only  for  a  fair  price  and 
not  for  love  of  the  art. 

It  is  well  for  an  office  to  acquire  a  distinctive  style 
for  its  commercial  work — a  something  that  will  come 
to  be  recognized  generally  by  those  who  observe  fine 
printing.  It  may  be  a  running  on  broad  bands  of 
border,  or  ornate  initials,  or  embossed  headings,  or  any 
other  one  thing  good  in  itself  that  has  not  been  ''run 
to  death "  in  the  locality.  We  must  recognize  that 
there  are  fashions  in  taste  in  printing  as  in  everything 
else,  and  that  these  fashions  are  set  by  the  printers 
themselves,  though  often  unconsciously.  There  is  no 
good  reason  why  they  cannot  be  set  deliberately  as  well 
as  accidentally.  If  the  leading  office  of  a  city  will  decide 
on  a  style  and  run  upon  it  conscientiously  for  a  year 
or  two,  it  will  be  found  that  all  the  small,  surrounding 
printers  will  be  copying  that  style.  Then  it  will  be 
time  for  the  leading  printer  to  consider  working  up 
another  style,  in  order  to  keep  ahead  of  the  procession 


152  DOING   GOOD    PRINTING. 

and  cause  business  men  to  recognize  that  he  is  the 
leader. 

This  setting  of  a  style  of  commercial  work  acts  as 
an  advertisement  for  a  house  and  costs  next  to  nothing. 
In  fact,  I  am  not  sure  but  it  is  an  economy,  for  it  enables 
the  printer  to  use  one  line  of  material  continuously,  and 
accustoms  the  workmen  to  obtain  the  effects  with  the 
least  labor.  When  the  style  runs  out  the  material  is 
well  worn  and  may  be  returned  to  the  founder  as  old 
metal,  and  a  new  lot  bought  to  advance  some  newer 
style.  Within  a  few  years  there  have  been  runs  on 
deckel-edged  paper  and  Bradley  type  that  have  pretty 
much  swept  the  country.  In  the  course  of  events 
these  will  give  way  to  other  things,  and  in  twenty 
years  printers  may  look  back  with  wonder  and  be  sur- 
prised that  these  things  ever  were  stylish.  That  this  is 
probable  may  be  proved  by  looking  back  at  the  speci- 
mens of  ornate  printing  of  a  decade  or  two  ago,  which 
are  strange  and  ridiculous  to  the  eyes  trained  to  modern 
effects.  This  is  in  obedience  to  a  law  of  human  nature 
that  craves  change,  and  to  another  law  that  results  in 
imitation,  producing  what  we  call  fashions. 

The  printer  who  can  set  the  fashion  for  his  locality 
is  bound  to  achieve  a  reputation  that  will  bring  him 
the  chance  of  doing  most  of  the  high  class  work  that 
is  executed  in  his  territory.  There  may  be  printers 
who  will  do  as  good  work  as  the  printer  with  a  repu- 
tation, but  they  do  not  stand  the  same  opportunity  of 
getting  high  class  jobs  as  the  printer  who  has  cultivated 
his  reputation  by  leading  taste  and  fashion. 

The  difference  between  an  ordinary  job  and  a  high 
class  production  often  involves  very  little  additional  cost, 
and   yet   it   counts  for   a    great   deal   in   reputation  and 


DOING   GOOD    PRINTING.  ^        1 53 

the  bringing  to  an  office  of  other  work  that  will  pay 
well.  The  selection  of  good  papers  has  a  large  bearing 
on  the  result,  and  as  the  cost  of  the  better  grades 
comes  out  of  the  customer,  the  printer  ought  always  to 
be  willing  to  advocate  good  papers,  knowing  that  by 
their  use  the  work  will  be  made  more  satisfactory.  In 
the  choice  of  inks  the  printer  can  improve  his  work  by 
judicious  use  of  others  than  black.  The  blue-blacks 
almost  always  look  better,  as  white  paper  always 
inclines  to  either  blue  or  yellow,  and  in  either  case 
the  suggestion  of  blue  in  the  black  ink  is  beautifying. 
Another  good  effect  is  always  obtainable  by  the  plain 
lake-red  rule  around  pages,  that  has  a  never-tiring 
beauty,  placing  the  work  on  a  higher  plane.  By  sug- 
gesting these  things  to  customers  they  often  may  be 
incorporated  in  orders,  and  thus  tend  to  elevate  the 
average  of  work  turned  out  and  add  to  the  profits. 

Carefulness  in  excluding  spoiled  sheets  from  those 
delivered  to  the  customer  adds  another  element  of 
reputation  for  high  class  work.  The  office  that  desires 
to  secure  or  maintain  a  place  among  the  very  best 
printeries  must  also  be  always  alive  to  the  keeping  up 
with  the  new  things  that  the  founder  produces  for  orna- 
menting work,  and  bringing  them  before  the  public 
ahead  of  others. 

The  use  of  wide  margins  is  a  very  neat  and  costless 
way  of  improving  the  appearance  of  work,  that  is  far 
too  much  neglected.  A  wide  margin  always  gives  a 
rich  effect;  a  narrow  margin  always  has  a  cramped, 
skimpy,  cheap  effect,  and  if  the  body  type  is  large,  the 
ill  effect  is  strengthened.  The  employment  of  ornate 
faces  for  body  type  is  another  method  of  elevating  the 
character   of    work.     By  purchasing    i co-lb.  fonts  of  a 


154       .  DOING   GOOD    PRINTING. 

few  handsome  faces  in  sizes  from  six  to  eighteen  point, 
the  printer  is  able  to  set  up  a  great  deal  of  commercial 
work  in  a  manner  that  is  much  more  ornamental  than 
if  the  body  matter  were  set  in  the  ordinary  romans  or 
old  styles. 

It  is  well  to  keep  at  hand  a  supply  of  samples  of 
pretty  half-tone  illustrations  that  are  available  for  use  in 
adding  to  the  attractiveness  of  work.  Occasionally  such 
can  be  introduced  so  as  to  add  materially  to  a  job 
without  increasing  cost,  and  more  frequently  they  serve 
to  develop  some  idea  in  the  customer's  mind  for  the 
preparation  of  original  half-tone  illustrations  for  the 
embellishment  of  the  job  under  consideration.  When 
the  illustrator  is  thus  called  in  to  increase  the  beauty 
and  attractiveness  of  the  job,  the  printer  not  only  gets 
his  percentage  on  the  engraving,  but  his  office  gets  the 
credit  of  the  improved  character  of  the  work. 

In  aiming  to  produce  superior  printing,  the  printer 
must  not  neglect  to  provide  himself  with  specimens  of 
the  efforts  of  leading  printers  in  other  cities.  If  he  be 
deficient  in  originality  he  can  always  borrow  plenty  of 
ideas  in  this  way,  without  infringing  any  copyright  or 
courtesy  of  the  trade. 

No  office  can  hope  to  lead  in  quality  of  work  that 
does  not  exercise  extreme  care  in  every  department  to 
insure  the  production  of  clean  work.  How  often  we 
see  otherwise  handsome  jobs  marred  by  a  few  leads 
sticking  up  or  by  smuts  on  the  margins!  The  avoiding 
of  these  is  not  a  question  of  art,  but  a  matter  of  vigi- 
lance in  overseeing  the  minor  details  of  production. 

In  seeking  to  add  to  the  high  character  of  small 
work  without  largely  increasing  the  cost,  the  wise 
printer  will  always  bear  in  mind  the  facility  with  which 


DOING   GOOD   PRINTING.  I  5  5. 

two  colors  may  be  run  at  once  on  a  jobber  on  the  turn- 
and-cut  principle.  This  is  a  trick  too  seldom  practiced 
though  generally  known.  By  cutting  out  the  composi- 
tion in  the  centre  of  the  distributers,  on  a  jobber  having 
cylinder  inking  apparatus,  a  different  color  may  be  run 
on  either  end  of  the  press,  and  the  form  be  divided  to 
suit.  This  method  is  economical  in  running  small  jobs 
of  one  thousand  to  five  thousand  impressions,  requiring 
a  tint  on  a  certain  portion  of  the  design,  or  one  line  in 
red  to  make  it  particularly  effective. 

In  order  to  improve  the  effectiveness  of  the  large 
work  in  an  office,  especial  attention  should  be  given 
to  type  designs,  headings  and  covers.  A  little  extra 
expense  of  $25  or  $50  on  a  $500  job  often  adds  one- 
half  to  its  general  effectiveness.  A  fine  cover  may  hide 
a  multitude  of  shortcomings.  The  longer  the  run  the 
less  is  the  proportionate  extra  cost  in  perfecting  the 
designs  that  go  to  make  a  book  or  magazine  attractive. 
Good  book-work  is  produced  by  extreme  care  as  to 
well-known  details;  good  magazine  or  pamphlet  work 
is  largely  dependent  upon  the  quality  of  the  illustra- 
tions, the  margins,  cover-coloring,  etc. ;  good  commer- 
cial work  is  dependent  upon  taste  in  composition  and 
care  of  details.  Only  by  having  efficient  help  in  all 
departments  and  by  the  infusing  of  personal  genius  and 
unique  characteristics  into  the  work  can  an  office  expect 
to  take  front  rank  as  a  producer  of  high  class  printing. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE   COMPOSING-ROOM. 

It  is  generally  admitted  that  the  composing-rGom 
of  a  printing  office  is  the  most  difficult  department  to 
run  at  a  profit.  The  chances  and  opportunities  for 
wasting  time  are  so  great,  and  the  temptation  to  take 
composition  at  cost  to  feed  the  pressroom  is  so  strong, 
that  a  vast  number  of  composing-rooms  are  run  year 
in  and  year  out  minus  any  profit,  and  many  of  them  at 
an  actual  loss.  This  is  a  wrong  condition  of  affairs,  that 
appears  to  have  been  aggravated  rather  than  improved 
in  many  instances  by  the  introduction  of  composing 
machines,  which  with  proper  management  should  have 
relieved  the  situation. 

In  order  to  make  a  composing-room  pay,  the  first 
essential  is  the  proper  arrangement  of  the  material. 
Too  often  the  stands,  stones,  cabinets  and  cases  are 
placed  about  "any  old  way,"  without  any  real  plan  for 
convenience,  whereas  nothing  in  the  printing  office  calls 
for  more  care  than  the  locating  of  all  material  where 
it  may  be  used  without  loss  of  time.  The  largest  item 
of  expense  in  the  composing-room  is  the  time  of  the 
employees;  it  can  be  saved  by  good  light  and  short 
travel  between  display  cases,  stones,  etc. 

A  composing-room  should  have  plenty  of  light,  and 
if  the  windows  are  not  close  together  more  should    be 


THE   COMPOSING-ROOM.  I  57 

put  in.  For  artificial  light,  the  best  is  the  cheapest.  A 
cent  an  hour  for  an  incandescent  electric  light  is  of  no 
consequence  if  it  enables  a  compositor  to  do  a  cent's 
worth  more  work  in  an  hour  than  some  cheaper  form 
of  light.  If  there  are  not  windows  enough  to  give  a 
satisfactory  light  during  the  daytime  more  should  be 
inserted  in  the  walls.  When  good  window  light  is 
provided  for,  the  next  essential  is  the  placing  of  the 
stands  by  the  windows  in  such  a  way  as  to  secure  a 
good  distribution  of  light  on  the  cases. 

It  is  a  very  poor  arrangement  to  place  stands  in  a 
line  too  deep  beyond  a  window,  in  a  room  with  a  low 
ceiling,  so  that  the  workman  at  the  further  stand  re- 
ceives only  a  half  light.  When  such  space  away  from 
the  windows  has  to  be  filled  with  stands,  these  should 
not  be  used  for  regular  composition,  but  for  cases  of 
occasional  use,  that  it.  is  desirable  to  keep  out  of  the 
racks,  as  head  letters,  italics,  etc.,  on  which  there  is 
considerable  demand. 

In  casing  display  type  the  wise  printer  will  avoid 
using  cases  with  very  small  boxes,  as  the  space  saved 
is  more  than  lost  by  the  time  wasted  in  getting  out 
the  types  from  the  little  boxes,  which  are  too  small  for 
the  fingers.  It  is  also  a  mistake  to  place  cases  very 
high  or  very  low  in  cabinets  or  racks,  because  it  is 
cheaper  to  provide  more  floor  space  than  to  tire  men 
out  sitting  on  their  heels  or  climbing  step-ladders  to 
set  up  lines. 

In  locating  stand-galleys  and  banks  much  care 
should  be  exercised  in  order  that  time  may  not  be 
wasted  going  back  and  forth  between  them  and  the 
cases.  This  also  applies  to  imposing  stones,  rule  cases, 
lead   and  furniture  racks,  etc.     Each   should   be   placed 


158  THE   COMPOSING-ROOM. 

with  a  view  to  saving  travel  in  setting  up,  proving, 
making-up,  and  the  hke. 

There  is  good  economy  in  having  plenty  of  ma- 
terial and  keeping  it  in  the  cases  as  much  as  possible. 
The  effort  to  economize  on  a  few  dollars'  worth  of 
sorts  often  results  in  wasting  double  the  value  in  time. 
The  lack  of  an  extra  proof-planer,  lead-cutter,  benzine 
brush  and  such  trifles,  often  causes  a  great  waste  of 
time.  Where  is  the  sense  in  paying  a  man  thirty  cents 
an  hour  to  tie  and  roll  up  bits  of  twine  for  page  cord 
or  to  chase  about  looking  for  a  ten  cent  sponge  ?  And 
yet  negligence  in  such  little  matters  as  these  is  apparent 
in  three  composing-rooms  out  of  every  four. 

It  pays  to  have  plenty  of  labor-saving  contrivances, 
plenty  of  quads  and  sorts  of  all  kinds,  plenty  of  chases, 
plenty  of  everything  and  anything  that  saves  time. 
And  it  is  just  as  important  to  keep  material  where  it 
can  be  used  readily  as  it  is  to  have  a  good  assortment 
in  stock.  For  this  reason  it  is  a  bad  policy  to  keep 
many  forms  standing.  Some  will  argue  that  by  keep- 
ing type  standing  there  is  often  a  saving  by  reason  of 
its  being  ready  for  a  further  edition,  should  one  be  de- 
manded, but  this  view  ignores  the  loss  of  convenience 
that  arises  from  the  releasing  of  the  sorts.  Nothing  is 
more  wasteful  than  time  spent  in  picking  sorts.  I 
abominate  this  practice,  and  would  rather  see  a  com- 
positor looking  out  of  the  window  at  a  circus  parade 
than  hunting  through  forms  for  sorts.  The  former 
occupation  at  least  has  the  merit  of  brightening  the 
man's  spirits  and  rendering  him  capable  of  more  cheer- 
ful effort  after  the  last  elephant  and  clown  have  passed 
out  of  sight,  whereas  the  latter  practice  is  not  only  a 
dead  waste  at  the  time,  but  may  cause  a  loss  later  if 


THE   COMPOSING-ROOM.  139 

the  sorts  have  to  be  replaced,  or  if  their  removal  causes 
a  pi. 

In  a  large  office  the  only  good  way  of  securing 
proper  distribution  is  to  put  a  competent  man  in  charge 
of  it,  and  make  him  responsible  for  the  condition  of 
all  type-cases  and  supplies  of  sorts.  He  should  have 
such  help  as  he  requires;  often  apprentices  or  boys  will 
do  very  well,  and  can  be  used  to  advantage  if  they  are 
painstaking,  as  care  is  required  rather  than  skill.  I  do 
not  believe  in  placing  compositors  on  the  dead  stone 
when  work  is  dull,  as  this  invites  loafing;  though  I 
recognize  that  all  rules  fail  in  emergencies,  and  that 
there  are  times  when  a  foreman  has  to  put  all  hands 
on  some  rush  work,  neglecting  distribution  for  a  day 
or  two,  and  then  put  a  few  compositors  on  distribu- 
tion to  wipe  out  the  accumulation.  The  system  is 
bad  in  principle,  however,  and  when  rush  work  re- 
quires such  action  an  extra  charge  should  be  placed  in 
the  bill  for  upsetting  the  routine  of  the  office. 

Men  are  all  different,  and  must  be  handled  intelli- 
gently and  not  as  machines,  for  a  knowledge  of  men  is 
of  great  value  in  the  composing-room,  in  order  that  they 
may  be  used  so  as  to  make  the  most  of  their  talents, 
dispositions,  etc.  It  is  quite  as  important  to  distribute 
the  work  properly  among  the  compositors  as  it  is  to 
distribute  it  suitably  among  the  presses.  By  recognizing 
the  different  ability  of  particular  men,  and  keeping  each 
as  far  as  possible  in  the  line  of  work  in  which  he  makes 
the  greatest  progress,  general  results  may  be  considerably 
increased.  A  man  with  a  special  knack  for  imposition 
should  be  kept  at  stone  work,  in  preference  to  allowing 
€ach  compositor  to  impose  his  own  forms.  In  every  fair- 
sized   office  there   are  generally  one  or  two  men  who 


l60  THE   COMPOSING-ROOM. 

can  do  tabular  work  twice  as  fast  as  some  others, 
though  the  men  who  fail  in  table  work  may  be  effi- 
cient in  other  regards.  With  a  force  of  compositors  on 
miscellaneous  job  and  book  work,  it  is  the  business  of 
a  foreman  to  know  who  can  handle  display  work  with 
the  best  results,  who  can  set  figure  work  expeditiously 
and  accurately,  who  are  the  fistest  cbmpositors  on 
straight  matter,  who  will  prove  most  useful  on  distribu- 
tion, corrections,  and  all  the  various  details  of  work 
in  the  department.  By  remembering  these  things  he 
can  apportion  the  work  most  advantageously  and  secure 
the  best  results  for  the  talent  in  hand. 

Most  master  printers  fail  to  appreciate  fully  the  great 
amount  of  time  expended  in  the  composing-room  on 
other  work  than  direct  composition.  Nothing  but  an 
accurate  record  will  convince  the  average  proprietor  of 
the  actual  facts  as  to  his  composing-room.  1  have 
before  me  a  composing-room  record  in  which  the 
showing  for  six  years  is  that  the  distribution  required 
almost  half  the  time  of  composition,  and  that  the  dis- 
tribution, proof-reading,  corrections  and  make-up  taken 
together  equalled  the  composition  proper.  This  tabula- 
tion did  not  take  into  account  any  superintendence  or 
fixed  charges.  It  is  probably  an  average  showing  and 
demonstrates  that  there  is  an  immensity  of  work  outside 
of  direct  composition  upon  which  economy  may  be  ex- 
ercised. Another  proof  of  the  amount  of  this  often  dis- 
regarded labor  is  found  in  the  record  of  a  number  of 
large  New  York  offices,  demonstrating  an  average  cost 
of  twenty-seven  cents  per  one  thousand  ems  for  hand- 
ling type  matter  after  the  compositor  had  earned  his 
wage  for  setting  and  correcting.  There  are  master 
printers   who  hold   the   idea   that   this  doubling  of  the 


THE    COMPOSING-ROOM.  l6l 

direct  labor  of  composition  is  unnecessary,  and  that  by- 
hustle  and  extra  good  management  they  can  avoid  most 
of  it.  This  is  a  delusion;  by  good  management  the 
indirect  costs  of  composition  can  be  kept  down,  but 
they  cannot  be  diminished  to  any  considerable  extent. 
Superior  management  may  check  a  variety  of  small 
leakages,  as  variously  suggested  in  this  chapter,  and 
whatever  cost  is  cut  down  by  labor-saving  devices  and 
close  watch  over  details,  should  go  to  the  printer  in 
increased  profit.  Because  1  hint  at  a  variety  of  ways  in 
which  this  secondary  cost  of  composition  may  be 
reduced,  I  hope  no  reader  will  draw  the  inference  that 
I  believe  that  the  cost  of  composition  can  ordinarily  be 
kept  down  to  less  than  double  the  original  time  cost 
of  setting  up  matter,  except  in  newspaper  offices,  where 
there  is  full  copy  and  every  convenience  for  rushing. 
By  basing  charges  on  the  actual  experiences  of  many 
offices  you  are  safe,  and  if  you  can  reduce  a  trifle  of 
cost  here  and  there  by  close  management,  you  have 
earned  it  and  it  should  be  yours,  not  the  customer's. 
Never,  never  gamble  in  advance  on  the  cleverness  of 
your  management,  by  making  prices  upon  the  assump- 
tion that  your  cost  will  be  less  than  that  of  your 
competitors  with  the  same  facilities. 

Where  composition  is  done  by  hand,  the  piece  system 
is  almost  always  preferable,  purely  on  the  score  of 
economy.  To  illustrate :  In  a  city  where  the  piece  scale 
is  thirty-five  cents  and  the  week  scale  $i6,  a  composi- 
tor working  by  the  week  must  set  almost  46,000  ems 
to  earn  his  $16.  This  is  much  above  the  average  pro- 
duction, as  week  hands  cannot  be  expected  to  average 
above  35,000  ems  unless  there  is  much  fat  matter,  and 
they  will  not  do  that  on  lean,  solid  type.     Piece  hands 


1 62  THE   COMPOSING-ROOM. 

will  set  more  type  in  the  same  number  of  hours  than 
time  hands,  but  even  piece  hands  cannot  be  expected 
to  average  40,000  ems  weekly  on  book  work  that  has 
to  be  evenly  spaced. 

In  machine  composition  opinions  differ  as  to  the 
advisability  of  employing  men  by  the  week  or  piece. 
The  time  of  a  machine,  is  so  valuable  that  only  fast 
keyboard  operators  are  wanted  and  employers  will 
cheerfully  pay  more  for  fast  men  than  for  operators  of 
moderate  speed.  The  consequence  is  that  operators 
have  the  same  stimulus  to  show  results  as  when  work- 
ing by  the  piece,  and  there  has  not  been  observed  any 
real  difference  in  product.  There  are  probably  as  many 
employers  and  as  many  employees  who  favor  the  week 
system  as  the  piece  system  on  the  machines. 

Time  can  be  saved  in  the  composing-room  by  de- 
manding good  copy  of  customers,  or  by  arranging  it 
properly  before  it  goes  to  the  compositor.  In  these 
days  of  cheap  typewriting,  the  printer  is  entitled  to 
good,  clear  copy  at  all  times,  and  when  a  customer 
offers  bad  copy,  it  is  best  to  tell  him  that  it  will  waste 
a  great  deal  of  the  compositor's  time,  which  must  be 
charged  for  some  way,  and  that  he  had  best  have  it 
typewritten,  or  that  you  will  have  it  done  for  him.  A 
little  judgment  exercised  here  will  often  save  lots  of 
waste  in  the  composing-room.  It  also  avoids  disputes 
with  customers  that  may  arise  from  a  misreading  of 
poor  manuscript.  The  compositor  cannot  be  expected 
to  get  up  a  good  string  from  illegible  copy,  and  when 
it  is  obviously  delaying,  he  may  not  care  to  try,  as 
he  has  such  good  excuse  for  going  slowly. 

In  some  composing-rooms  there  is  much  waste 
because  of  a  needless  regard  for  style,  as  in  capitalization, 


THE   COMPOSING-ROOM.  '  1 63 

hyphenating,  division  of  words,  disputed  spellings,  and 
the  like.  This  usually  emanates  from  the  proofroom, 
where  an  office  style  has  been  developed,  and  which 
comes  to  be  insisted  upon,  without  regard  to  economy 
or  common  sense.  It  is  essential  to  maintain  a  style 
throughout  an  entire  book,  but  every  job  done  in  one 
office  need  not  follow  that  style.  The  effort  to  pre- 
serve office  style  through  miscellaneous  job  work 
simply  results  in  needless  waste.  If  the  style  of  an 
office  is  to  spell  centra,  theatre,  etc.,  what  matters  it  if 
in  a  particular  job  some  compositor  spells  the  words 
center  and  theater  .^  Both  spellings  are  authorized, 
and  the  customer  is  unlikely  to  care  a  rap  which  is 
employed,  or  if  he  is  suspected  of  caring,  the  guide 
to  his  taste  is  found  in  following  copy,  rather  than 
in  following  office  style,  regarding  which  he  prob- 
ably knows  nothing.  In  the  matters  referred  to,  any 
commonly  accepted  style  is  as  good  commercially  as 
any  other,  and  if  the  compositor  has  set  a  job  uni- 
formly on  any  reasonable  system,  it  is  a  waste  of  good 
money  for  the  proof-reader  to  alter  his  work  simply  to 
make  it  conform  to  his  notions  or  the  accepted  office 
style.  If  a  proof-reader  manifests  a  tendency  to  be 
too  strict  in  such  matters,  and  to  insist  on  particular 
spellings  and  divisions,  he  should  be  checked.  It  is 
all  very  well  to  have  educated  readers,  but  the  printer 
is  not  in  business  to  improve  the  English  language  at 
his  own  expense,  and  when  a  reader  interferes  with 
practical  results,  a  little  wholesome  advice  from  the 
business  office  is  in  order. 

In  some  book  offices  a  great  deal  of  time  is  spent 
in  tying  and  untying  pages  of  type  in  the  period 
between    composition   and    going  to  press.     Especially 


164  THE   COMPOSING-ROOM. 

is  this  loss  apparent  in  a  class  of  work  that  is  kept 
standing  in  pages,  and  subject  to  regular  correction. 
Often  great  saving  can  be  effected  in  such  work  by 
placing  grooved  wooden  furniture  around  the  pages 
before  tying  up,  so  that  the  page  cord  is  entirely 
sunk  in  the  grooves.  This  cord  may  then  remain  in 
when  the  form  is  locked  and  goes  to  press,  effecting  a 
material  economy  in  handling  the  pages  at  various 
times  without  tying  up  or  untying. 

By  applying  the  same  common  sense  that  dictates 
the  above  practice  to  other  regular  work,  observing 
where  special  conveniences  may  reduce  the  time  of 
getting  it  out  and  providing  extra  galleys,  sort  boxes, 
shelving,  or  anything  of  that  sort  that  will  expedite 
the  work,  further  savings  may  be  accomplished.  In 
every  large  or  regular  job  in  the  composing-room 
there  are  sure  to  be  some  ways  and  means  for  reducing 
the  labor  by  taking  note  of  especial  characteristics  of 
the  work.  It  is  a  part  of  the  duty  of  every  foreman 
to  use  his  brains  and  ingenuity  in  such  matters,  and 
to  save  time  at  every  turn. 

It  is  a  debatable  question  with  many  offices  whether 
it  is  best  to  put  in  composing  machines,  or  to  give 
out  their  straight  composition  to  offices  having  ma- 
chines, buying  it  on  the  galley.  This  is  a  point  which 
each  must  settle  for  himself,  according  to  his  circum- 
stances. It  is  certainly  better  for  a  small  office  to  buy 
type  on  the  galley  than  to  incur  indebtedness  for 
machines  which  it  has  not  the  work  to  keep  busy. 
The  office  doing  a  large  amount  of  composition  can 
save  money  by  owning  its  own  machines,  but  where 
to  draw  this  line  between  the  office  that  cannot  afford 
to  do  without   them    and  the  office  that  would  be  ex- 


THE   COMPOSING-ROOM.  1 65 

travagant  in  purchasing  them,  is  a  poser.  The  decision 
can  be  arrived  at  only  by  the  parties  interested,  having 
all  the  minute  details  affecting  the  situation.  It  has 
been  demonstrated  that  machines  are  a  saving  that 
varies  with  the  class  of  work  in  hand,  and  the  amount 
of  saving  on  certain  classes  of  work  is  to  most  printers 
an  inexact  quantity.  Printers  must  be  cautious  in  put- 
ting in  machines  not  to  overrate  the  results  they  can 
get,  but  to  bear  in  mind  that  a  composing  machine  is 
like  a  press,  in  that  it  must  be  kept  running  a  large 
number  of  hours  daily  to  produce  the  most  economical 
results.  In  practice  it  is  difficult  to  keep  cylinder  presses 
running  half  the  time,  and  while  we  know  that  the 
composing  machine  can  be  kept  more  busy  than  the 
press,  yet  it  is  not  safe  to  calculate  that  it  can  be 
occupied  all  the  time.  Copy  will  give  out,  operators 
will  want  a  holiday,  the  power  will  break  down,  and 
so  on  ;  besides,  there  will  be  delays  in  changing  sizes 
of  type  and  measures,  and  a  good  many  minor  things 
not  readily  foreseen. 

The  printer  who  uses  composing  machines  must 
beware  of  giving' his  profit  to  the  customer.  Where 
is  the  sense  in  buymg  costly  machinery  and  then  giv- 
ing all  the  margin  to  the  public?  Machine  composi- 
tion ought  to  be  furnished  to  the  customer  at  the  same 
price  as  hand-set,  wherever  conditions  make  it  pos- 
sible. Only  on  newspaper  work  is  it  reasonable  for 
a  customer  to  expect  a  lower  figure.  I  am  a  believer 
in  the  machines;  they  mark  a  great  step  in  advance  in 
the  printing  industry;  but  1  deprecate  the  disposition  of 
printers  to  use  them  simply  to  cut  prices  and  get  work 
away  from  other  printers.  The  proper  way  is  to  use 
them  for  what  work  you  have  and   to   secure  to  your- 


l66  THE   COMPOSING-ROOM. 

self  the  profit  they  allow  on  that  work,  rather  than  to 
try  and  make  a  small  profit  on  all  the   work   in  sight. 

If  a  printer  insists  on  doing  all  the  work  in  his 
neighborhood  on  machines  it  is  better  that  he  should 
do  it  direct  for  his  fellow  printers  than  to  go  to  their 
customers,  for  in  this  way  he  maintains  prices,  and  a 
larger  profit  is  secured  to  all. 

Some  one  has  said  that  success  consists  in  attend- 
ing to  little  things.  This  is  particularly  true  of  the 
composing-room,  where  a  large  and  economical  output 
can  be  obtained  only  by  unceasing  vigilance  as  to  the 
minor  details. 

A  few  extracts  from  the  "Rules  and  Usages  of  the 
Typothetae  of  New  York,"  regarding  composition,  seem 
appropriate  in  closing  : 


Prices  for  Composition. 

PER    ICXX)   Effl"^^ 

For  weekly  newspapers,     .....         70  cents. 
Plain  book  work — reprint,  .         .         .         .         70     " 

"        ''       "        manuscript    .         .         .         .         75     " 

Pages  containing  less  than    1000  ems  should  be  charged  at 
an  advanced  rate  as  follows : 


900  ems  and  over, 
800    "      "      " 
700    "      "      " 
600    "      "      " 
500    "      "      " 


PER    1000   E.MS, 

80  cents. 
85      " 
90     " 

95      " 
$1.00     " 


These  rates  apply  only  to  ordinary  composition  in  works 
containing  50,000  ems  or  more,  in  which  the  cost  of  making- 
up  and  composition  can  be  reduced  by  the  re-use  of  head  and 
foot  lines,  and  chase  furniture. 

Pamphlets  of  thirty-two  pages  or  less,  and  all  single-sheet 
jobs  should  be  at  the  .rate  of  $1.00  per  1000  ems. 

These  rates  include  the  work  here  specified  and  no  more : 

One  proof  on  galley  made  correct  to  copy,  free  from  typo- 
graphical errors  and  bad  spelling,   and  composed  in  a  work- 


THE   COMPOSING-ROOM.  1 67 

manlike  manner;  one  corrected  proof  made  up  in  pages  or 
columns. 

Changes  in  proof  that  were  not  plainly  indicated  or  ordered 
in  copy  or  called  for  by  a  previously  prepared  and  agreed, 
schedule  for  style  (such  as  the  substitution  of  spelled-out 
words  instead  of  figures,  of  capitals  instead  of  lower  case,  of 
italic  or  small  capitals  instead  of  roman,  or  any  deviation 
whatever  from  the  copy)  must  be  rated  as  alterations. 

When  a  negligently-written  copy  has  not  been  properly 
prepared  as  to  punctuation,  capitals,  italic,  etc.,  the  printer 
should  try  to  amend  these  faults,  but  his  amendments,  even 
though  partial  or  incomplete,  are  to  be  regarded  as  a  fair  com- 
pliance with  his  contract.  The  printer's  contract  is  for  the 
mechanical  work,  and  not  for  editing,  even  in  as  small  a  matter 
as  punctuation.  The  standard  rates  of  composition  are  for 
work  that  is  to  be  composed  but  once,  and  not  for  work  to  be 
edited  at  the  printer's  expense.  The  contract  is  complete  when 
proof  is  made  correct  to  copy,  or  is  amended  m  typographical 
style,  as  far  as  the  ordinary  compositor  can  amend  it  Copy 
should  be  properly  prepared,  or  if  edited  in  the  proof,  it  should 
be  at  the  cost  of  the  customer. 

It  is  understood,  however,  that  all  work  should  be  work- 
manlike as  to  spacing,  leading,  blanking-out.  and  uniformity 
of  style  on  headings  and  sub-divisions.  Failure  to  do  work- 
manlike composition  shall  be  at  the  printer's  and  not  at  the 
customer's  expense.  Book  titles,  dedications  and  displayed 
advertisements  must  be  composed  in  a  good  style  before  proof 
is  submitted. 

All  time  work  spent  in  the  improvement  of  the  style  of  com- 
posed matter,  after  it  has  been  made  correct  to  copy  and  ap- 
proved of  by  the  office,  whether  spent  in  alterations,  reading, 
revising,  proving  or  stone  or  plate  work,  should  be  charged  as 
alterations. 

Time  work  at  composition  should  be  charged  at  the  rate  of 
60  cents  per  hour. 

When  composition  is  done  on  time  an  allowance  should  be 
made  for  proof-reading,  make-up,  distribution,  etc.,  to  be  added 
to  the  time  for  composition  at  the  rate  of  60  cents  per  hour. 

Jobs  set  in  delicate  or  fragile  type  should  be  charged  one- 
third  more  than  for  ordinary  type 

All  cuts  introduced  in  composition,  including  full-page  cuts, 
to  be  charged  as  text. 

Over-running  matter  to  insert  cuts  to  be  charged  as  altera- 
tions. 


l68  THE   COMPOSING-ROOM. 

Standing  type  should  be  charged  5  cents  per  1000  ems  for 
a  week,  or  10  cents  for  a  month. 

Type  kept  out  of  use  by  delay  of  proof  beyond  reasonable 
time  should  be  charged  as  standing  matter. 

Extra  price  matter  should  be  charged  double  the  extra  paid 
to  the  compositor,  in  additioii  to  the  price  for  plain  matter. 

Special  or  unusual  sorts  that  have  to  be  bought  for  the  work 
should  be  charged  at  cost.  Composition  of  displayed  advertise- 
ments should  be  measured  and  charged  as  brevier  (no  allowance 
being  made  for  electrotype  advertisements  that  may  be  fur- 
nished), unless  the  difficulty  of  the  work  or  the  quantity  of 
smaller  type  used  calls  for  a  higher  rate. 

In  furnishing  an  estimate,  or  rendering  a  bill,  no  customer  is 
entitled  to  prices  in  detail  on  the  several  items  of  composition, 
presswork,  binding,  electrotyping,  etc.,  nor  should  any  be  given 
except  under  exceptional  circumstances  which  in  themselves 
would  excuse  a  breach  of  business  custom. 


CHAPTER  XVIIi. 

THE   PRESSROOM. 

The  largest  investment  of  money  in  the  printing  office 
is  usually  in  the  pressroom,  and  this  department  can  be 
made  to  pay  only  by  wise  management  of  machinery 
appropriate  to  the  work  in  hand.  The  cylinder  press 
is  the  great  producer;  the  web  press  and  the  perfecter 
have  their  special  fields,  as  have  the  platen  presses,  but 
most  printers  depend  upon  the  output  of  the  cylinders 
for  results  in  the  pressroom.  The  economical  handling 
of  these  cylinders  is  therefore  of  the  highest  impor- 
tance. At  first  sight,  management  of  a  pressroom  simply 
means  putting  on  the  presses  what  work  there  is,  and 
running  it  off  in  a  workmanlike  manner — and  that  is 
about  all  the  concern  that  is  exercised  in  many  press- 
rooms; but  to  make  money  out  of  printing  presses  re- 
quires the  use  of  brains  and  judgment  just  as  in  any 
other  producing  or  manufacturing  business. 

In  the  first  place  it  pays  to  have  good  machines, 
and  when  those  in  use  are  antiquated  it  is  commonly 
best  to  throw  them  out  and  put  in  better  producers. 
It  is  also  well  to  maintain  them  in  good  order,  by 
regular  inspection,  rather  than  to  wait  for  break-downs, 
which  are  most  apt  to  occur  in  seasons  of  rush,  when 
they  cause  the  greatest  loss.  During  the  dull  summer 
months  every  large    pressroom   should    employ   a    ma- 


lyO  THE    PRESSROOM. 

chinist  to  look  over  the  presses  and  advise  as  to  any 
parts  that  are  giving  out,  and  which  require  renewal 
or  readjustment.  In  this  way  there  is  little  danger  of 
trouble  with  the  presses  during  heavy  runs  in  busy 
season. 

In  choosing  presses,  it  is  a  waste  to  employ  a  high 
class  $3,000  two-revolution  cylinder  for  newspaper 
work,  when  some  old-style  two-roller  press  will  turn 
it  out  as  rapidly.  It  is  even  worse  to  try  and  do  half- 
tone work  on  a  two-roller  press,  which  never  can  give 
good  results.  Yet  if  an  office  has  a  modern  four- 
roller  two-revolution  that  is  not  busy  all  the  time  it 
would  be  better  to  put  a  newspaper  job  on  it  than  to 
buy  a  two-roller  press  for  that  purpose,  since  it  is 
economy  to  make  the  best  use  of  what  is  already  in 
an  office. 

Without  good  rollers  and  appropriate  inks  there 
will  be  much  waste  time  in  the  pressroom,  and  care- 
lessness in  providing  these  should  never  be  permitted. 
Do  not  economize  on  rollers,  but  get  the  best,  and 
take  care  of  them.  Maintain  a  good  heat  in  the  press- 
room at  all  times;  as,  even  a  slight  neglect  in  this  par- 
ticular results  in  large  waste.  If  the  pressroom  in 
winter  is  not  up  to  a  proper  heat  until  half  an  hour 
after  the  starting  time,  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour's 
time  of  all  hands  is  wasted.  This  is  a  point  that  is 
frequently  disregarded  in  small  and  medium-sized  of- 
fices. Every  proprietor  should  see  to  it  personally  that 
a  proper  temperature  is  maintained  in  his  pressroom  if 
he  expects  to  receive  value  for  the  wages  he  pays  out. 

A  clear  head  is  required  in  a  large  pressroom  to 
give  out  the  work  to  the  best  advantage,  and  good 
business   qualifications   on   the    part    of  a    foreman    are 


THE   PRESSROOM.  I7I 

often  more  valuable  here  than  unusual  skill  in  press- 
work.  A  prompt,  accurate  judgment  is  in  demand  all 
the  time  in  overseeing  the  operation  of  a  large  number 
of  printing  presses.  The  responsibility  is  great,  because 
so  much  costly  paper  is  handled,  and  a  very  simple 
blunder  often  may  result  in  a  large  amount  of  spoilage. 
To  keep  the  run  of  the  work  readily  the  foreman 
should  keep  before  him  a  sheet  on  which  appear  all 
the  jobs  on  hand,  and  those  coming,  in  order  to  make 
provision  for  them.  Such  a  sheet  may  be  made  up 
this  way: 

Schedule  of  Presswork — Friday,  May  2. 

Cylinder  press  A.  Jones'  Catalogue,  io-m,  off  by  three  o'clock* 

"  "  B.  Waiting  for  electros. 

"  "  C.  The  Mirror,  7>^-m,  must  be  off  to-night. 

"  "  D.  Brown's  book,  off  sometime  Saturday. 

"  pony  E.   Blotters,  20-M,  off  Thursday  noon. 

Gordons,  half       A.  Clipper  Club  Menu,  off  about  noon. 
"         quarto  B.  Smith's  envelopes,  15-M,  off  four  o'clock. 

"      C.  Idle. 
"         eighth   D.  Patent  medicine  dodgers,  1 2-M,  off  six  o'clock. 

*'       E.  Idle. 

Forms  waiting. — C,  B.  &  Q:,time  table,  20x30,  3-M. 
Picnic  posters,  28  x  42,  200. 
Thomson's  blanks,   12  x  36,  2»^-m. 

Forms  coming. — Jeweler's  Gems,   3-M,  four  o'clock. 

Carter's  circulars,   50-M,  Wednesday  a.  m. 
Parker's  billheads,   2-m  4s,  Wednesday  a.  m. 
Green's  letter-heads,  8-m,  Wednesday  p.  m. 

By  keeping  everything  before  him  on  one  sheet  in 
this  manner  the  foreman  of  the  pressroom  is  able  to 
plan  ahead  with  certainty  as  to  what  forms  are  best 
placed  on  certain  presses,  and  may  be  tolerably  certain 
as  to  when  each  job  can  go  to  press.  The  system 
prevents  slips  of  the  memory,  and  enables  the  foreman 
to   feel  quite  sure    of  what  he   is    doing.      As    fust   as 


172  THE   PRESSROOM.' 

forms  go  into  the  chase-rack  he  enters  them  as  forms 
waiting,  and  as  soon  as  they  go  on  press  they  are 
transferred  to  that  head.  By  conference  with  the  fore- 
man of  the  composing-room  once  or  twice  a  day 
he  keeps  up  his  Hst  of  forms  coming,  and  prevents 
the  springing  of  any  surprises  that  tend  to  upset  his 
plans.  It  is  a  very  bad  practice  to  go  only  by  the 
chase-rack,  and  to  decide  when  a  pressman  comes 
along  what  form  he  had  better  take;  that  is  almost  as 
bad  as  letting  the  pressmen  help  themselves  out  of  the 
chase-rack,  and  take  the  job  that  most  suits  their  fancy. 
By  deciding  all  these  things  in  advance  on  a  system, 
the  pressman  may  be  often  informed  towards  the  close 
of  a  run  as  to  what  is  coming  next,  and  can  make 
any  preparations  that  are  likely  to   expedite  the   work. 

When  a  pressroom  is  crowded  with  work  it  is  a 
good  plan  to  pay  the  feeders  extra  to  wash  up  and  put 
on  rollers  before  and  after  hours,  so  that  the  presses 
may  be  kept  running  full  time,  thus  virtually  gaining  a 
half  hour's  production  at  slight  cost.  It  is  also  well  to 
stimulate  pressmen  and  feeders  alike  to  hustle,  by  close 
watch  of  their  progress,  offering  premiums  for  quick 
runs,  and  a  general  enforcement  of  those  principles  laid 
down  in  the  chapter  on  ''Management  of  Employees." 

A  record  should  be  kept  of  all  work,  and  when  the 
make-ready  of  a  form  is  passed,  at  least  two  copies  of 
the  sheet  should  be  filed,  with  the  date,  time,  run  and 
name  of  pressman  and  feeder  written  thereon,  besides 
the  foreman's  and  proofreader's  O.  K.'s.  These  filed 
sheets  serve  to  settle  subsequent  disputes  in  case  of 
spoilage,  etc.,  and  are  convenient  for  reference  in  many 
ways. 

It  is  the  part  of  prudence  to  avoid   purchasing  new 


THE   PRESSROOM.  1 73 

machinery  to  accommodate  a  rush  of  work  that  may 
be  temporary.  Many  a  printer  has  added  50  or  100  per 
cent,  to  the  capacity  of  his  pressroom  only  to  find  that 
within  a  year  he  is  chasing  about  cutting  prices  to  get 
work  enough  to  keep  the  machines  going.  It  is  better 
to  have  few  presses  and  busy  ones,  than  many  presses 
often  idle.  In  few  pressrooms  is  it  possible  to  keep 
the  cylinders  and  Gordons  actually  running  for  more 
than  one-third  of  the  working  hours  of  the  year.  An- 
other third  of  the  time  is  taken  up  in  make-ready,  and 
during  the  remaining  third  they  stand  idle,  If  a  drive 
of  work  comes  into  a  pressroom  the  production  can  be 
increased  to  meet  the  emergency  by  adding  to  the  help 
on  make-ready,  thus  obtaining  more  hours  during  which 
the  presses  can  be  kept  running;  and  if  there  is  a  still 
further  demand  on  the  pressroom  the  machines  can  be 
run  at  night,  without  much  extra  cost,  as  the  increased 
pay  of  the  men  is  nearly  offset  by  the  saving  in  fixed 
expenses  that  need  not  be  charged  against  night  work. 
A  further  increase  of  orders  may  be  met  by  giving 
presswork  to  some  competitor  who  is  not  so  busy. 
Only  when  it  is  evident  that  the  increase  of  work  is 
permanent  should  the  proprietor  increase  the  number 
of  his  printing  machines. 

There  has  been  a  tendency  for  many  years  to  in- 
crease the  size  of  presses,  as  it  is  evident  that  the 
economy  of  printing  machines  increases  with  the  size 
of  the  sheets  they  will  print.  Though  the  largest 
machines  are  very  costly  and  heavy,  yet  they  produce 
work  more  cheaply  when  there  is  enough  for  them  to 
do,  and  therefore  they  are  in  demand  wherever  there 
are  long  runs  that  may  be  made  up  for  large  sheets. 
Of  course  where  there  are  constant  long  runs  of  small- 


174  THE   PRESSROOM. 

sized  sheets,  that  cannot  readily  be  doubled,  it  is  best 
to  use  cylinders  of  moderate  size,  and  if  there  is  an 
occasional  loss  through  inability  to  double  up  a  form, 
it  is  compensated  for  by  the  continual  saving  in  run- 
ning a  lighter  and  smaller  press.  The  pony  cylinder 
is  a  money-earner  where  there  are  plenty  of  short  runs 
adapted  to  its  size  of  sheet,  but  it  is  a  considerable 
loss  to  use  ponies  on  book  work  or  the  like,  which 
might  be  run  in  large  forms.  The  half-medium  platen 
jobber  is  not  so  much  favored  as  it  was  twenty  years 
ago,  but  for  short  runs  of  work  adapted  to  its  size,  I 
have  always  found  it  preferable  to  the  pony  cylinder, 
as  the  first  cost  of  the  machine  is  much  less,  and  the 
help  required  less  expensive. 

The  printer  who  tries  to  make  money  by  running 
his  presses  faster  than  the  builder  designed  them  to  run 
makes  a  mistake.  As  has  been  shown,  the  production 
of  a  pressroom  can  be  increased  in  several  other  ways 
that  are  not  damaging,  and  the  over-speeding  of  a 
press  is  bound  to  break  it  up  v/ithin  a  few  years. 
There  is  an  exception  to  this  general  rule  where  the 
work  demanded  is  of  an  exceptionally  hurried  character, 
and  will  pay  the  printer  for  breaking  down  his  ma- 
chines and  buying  new.  There  are  offices  in  Wall 
Street,  New  York,  where  this  is  done  knowingly  and 
profitably.  Certain  financial  matters  must  be  printed 
iind  sent  out  at  the  utmost  speed,  and  cost  is  an  in- 
ferior consideration.  Cylinders  are  belted  up  to  3,000 
an  hour,  and  feeders  specially  trained  to  crowd  in  the 
sheets.  The  life  of  a  cylinder  that  is  regularly  abused 
in  this  way  is  about  two  years;  then  it  is  thrown  out, 
and  a  printer's  machinist  replaces  some  of  the  parts  and 
sends   it   out  as   a    rebuilt    machine   to  some   country 


THE   PRESSROOM.  1 75 

printer  who  wants  a  press  cheap,  and  does  not  care  if 
it  is  loose  in  the  joints  and  shy  on  register.  The  Wall 
Street  printer  makes  a  profit  by  charging  an  extra  price 
for  the  hurried  work  ;  but  any  printer  who  thinks  he 
can  save  time  enough  to  make  money  on  ordinary 
work  by  over-speeding  his  presses,  is  doomed  to  ex- 
pensive disappointment. 

The  master  printer  who  would  make  money  out  of 
his  pressroom  requires  to  watch  carefully  the  character 
of  paper  furnished  by  customers,  and  to  give  himself 
leeway  in  making  contracts  to  charge  time  in  cases 
where  the  paper  makes  trouble  and  delay.  If  the  paper 
is  extra  thin  it  is  hard  to  feed,  and  the  press  must  be 
run  slowly;  if  it  is  overcharged  with  electricity  it  may 
take  just  double  time  to  run  off;  if  it  is  rough-edged, 
it  will  require  pointing  to  get  register;  if  it  is  unduly 
or  unevenly  coated  there  will  be  bother  and  delay;  if 
it  is  not  cut  squarely,  there  will  be  a  lot  of  trouble 
in  adjusting  margins,  turning  and  cutting;  and  so  it 
may  be  with  half  a  dozen  other  things,  for  all  of  which 
the  customer  should  pay  when  he  elects  to  furnish  his 
own  paper  stock. 

A  careful  record  should  be  kept  of  all  detention  of 
presses,  that  they  may  be  charged  to  the  customer, 
when  they  are  a  consequence  of  his  delays.  The  time 
of  a  cylinder  is  worth  as  much  and  more  than  that  of 
the  man  who  oversees  it,  as  is  fully  explained  in  the 
chapter  on  *'The  Cost  of  Producing  Printing,"  and  if  a 
press  is  held  for  overdue  proof  corrections  by  the  cus- 
tomer, or  for  electros  which  he  is  to  furnish,  or  in  any 
other  manner  for  which  he  is  responsible,  a  distinct 
charge  is  proper;  but  only  by  making  such  things  clear 
in  advance,  and  by  keeping  an  accurate  record  of  such 


176  THE    PRESSROOM. 

delays,  can  the  printer  hope  to  collect  for  them  without 
undue  friction  with  the  customer. 

It  is  proper  for  the  office  to  retain  possession  of  all 
overlays  cut  for  any  job,  in  the  absence  of  any  contract 
to  the  contrary  with  the  customer.  Because  the  cus- 
tomer has  paid  for  the  time  of  producing  overlays,  they 
do  not  become  his  property,  as  he  buys  only  the  re- 
sultant job.  He  might  as  well  demand  of  the  printer 
the  delivery  of  electros,  which  the  printer  had  ordered 
for  his  own  convenience  in  the  production  of  the  work. 
The  storing  of  overlays  and  electros  affords  only  a  fair 
chance  for  extra  profit  to  the  printer  on  future  orders. 
Where  customers  want  to  buy  the  overlays  or  elec- 
tros produced  on  their  work,  a  moderate  charge  is 
proper. 

A  great  deal  of  the  cost  of  a  pressroom  is  involved 
in  the  time  spent  in  making  ready.  The  time  required 
on  a  form  is  always  more  or  less  of  an  unknown 
quantity,  yet  workmen  can  be  trained  to  great  speed 
in  overlaying  by  a  judicious  system.  If  you  are  con- 
scious that  there  is  too  much  time  spent  in  making 
ready  in  your  pressroom,  look  into  some  other  press- 
room, where  you  know  they  have  to  hustle,  and  ob- 
serve the  methods  by  which  speed  is  induced  and 
maintained.  Both  for  common  and  extra  fine  work 
there  is  a  vast  difference  between  men  who  are  trained 
to  rush  the  overlaying,  and  those  who  go  at  it  in  a 
leisurely  manner,  with  the  conception  that  the  work  is 
so  artistic  as  to  require  deep  study  and  observation  at 
each  stage.  The  individual  hustle  of  each  pressman 
is  the  item  where  management  may  be  expected  to 
show  most  results. 

The  duplication  of  forms  calls  for  considerable  judg- 


THE   PRESSROOM.  1 77 

ment  on  the  part  of  the  printer.  If  it  is  desired  to 
print  100,000  9x12  circulars,  in  determining  how  many 
plates  he  will  make,  and  how  many  can  be  run  at  once, 
he  has  to  consider  which  of  his  presses  are  idle.  It 
may  be  that  he  can  figure  abstractly  that  the  work  can 
be  done  cheapest  with  sixteen  plates  on  a  large  cylin- 
der, but  if  his  large  cylinders  are  busy  and  a  pony  idle, 
the  chances  are  that  it  is  cheapest  for  him  to  make 
fewer  plates  and  run.  it  on  the  pony.  It  is  not  good 
economy  to  have  hard  and  fast  rules  in  all  these  things. 

When  there  is  a  rush  of  work  in  the  pressroom 
there  is  sometimes  opportunity  to  effect  a  saving  by 
placing  two  small  jobs  of  the  same  length  of  run  ort 
one  cylinder  press,  one  on  each  end  of  the  bed.  The 
more  clever  the  foreman,  the  oftener  will  he  find  such 
opportunities  for  saving  labor. 

Where  an  office  handles  a  great  many  electrotype 
plates,  requiring  much  time  for  adjustment  on  the 
blocks  for  the  press,  so  that  one  or  more  presses  are 
run  practically  all  the  time  with  blocked  electros,  it  is 
good  economy  to  have  special  metal  blocks  made  for 
the  presses,  adapted  to  hold  any  size  of  plate.  These  are 
high  in  first  cost,  but  they  save  a  great  deal  of  time, 
and  insure  accurate  register.  As  the  blocks  fit  the  bed 
of  the  press,  it  is  possible  to  take  off  a  large  form  and 
put  it  on  again  without  losing  register.  They  also  do 
away  with  the  great  annoyance  that  comes  from  mak- 
ing up  a  form  of  blocks  in  which  are  a  few  odd  sizes 
of  plates,  as  of  illustrations  that  run  small,  or  advertis- 
ing pages  that  run  large. 

In  undertaking  presswork  it  is  very  essential  that 
the  manager  of  an  office  should  know  all  the  ins  and 
outs  of  the  work,  as  there  are  so  many  items  that  add 


178  THE   PRESSROOM. 

to  cost  of  production.  For  instance,  forms  of  part  type 
and  part  plates  on  wood  bases  always  involve  a  loss 
of  time  in  make-ready;  almost  any  blocks  on  wood 
bases  are  apt  to  add  to  the  labor.  Forms  of  a  given 
size  having  ^2  or  48  pages  involve  more  labor  in 
making  register  than  where  there  are  only  eight  or  six- 
teen pages  on  which  to  secure  correct  backing.  A  rule 
border  likev/ise  increases  the  labor  of  making  register, 
and  also  involves  a  loss  of  time  in  avoiding  slur. 
Forms  of  poetry,  though  fat  for  the  compositor,  and 
requiring  to  be  registered  only  on  the  folios,  are  yet 
lean  for  the  pressman  because  the  numerous  ragged 
lines  take  more  impression  than  those  in  the  body  of 
the  verse,  involving  much  cutting  out  and  patching  up. 
Forms  of  very  small  type  require  increased  care,  be- 
cause of  the  necessity  for  extreme  clearness  of  print, 
and  must  be  inked  quite  as  well  as  a  form  of  half- 
tones, involving  as  many  stoppages. 

It  pays  to  have  things  neat  and  clean  in  the  press- 
room, as  dirty  presses  and  floors  invite  slouchy  work. 
The  instant  a  new  pressman  comes  into  a  pressroom 
where  the  machines  are  clean  and  bright,  the  floor 
clear  of  soiled  paper  and  waste,  and  the  ink  neatly 
kept,  that  instant  he  recognizes  that  he  is  expected  to 
turn  out  neat  work  in  such  surroundings;  but  when  a 
new  man  comes  to  work  in  a  dirty,  dark  pressroom, 
it  does  not  require  much  intelligence  on  his  part  to 
recognize  that  almost  any  slighted  work  will  pass 
muster.  Every  printer  should  know  enough  to  keep  a 
record  of  the  sheets  spoiled,  though  there  are  offices  in 
which  this  is  not  done.  When  omitted,  the  shortage 
usually  comes  out  of  the  customer,  who  may  not 
notice  it.     If  it  is   noticed,    however,   the  customer  is 


THE   PRESSROOM.  1 79 

apt  to  consider  the  printer   as  dishonest,   and   to    leave 
him  for  one  in  whom  he  has  confidence. 

The  steam-engine  has  been  the  most  favored  motor 
for  the  pressroom,  but  of  late  years  the  practice  has 
increased  of  attaching  individual  electric  motors  to  each 
press.  Under  this  system  the  printer  pays  only  for  the 
power  he  uses,  as  there  is  no  charge  for  electric  cur- 
rent when  the  press  stands  still.  It  does  away  with 
shafting,  pulleys  and  belting,  affording  increased  light. 
If  a  few  more  presses  are  added  to  the  plant  it  is  not 
necessary  to  throw  out  the  steam-engine  and  buy  a 
larger  one.  By  availing  himself  of  such  improved 
mechanical  means  as  this,  wherever  offered,  the  wise 
printer  may  expect  to  be  able  to  produce  work  for  his 
pressroom  as  economically  as  any  one  in  his  locality. 

The  platen  job  presses  in  an  office  should  be  large 
earners,  if  the  business  office  knows  how  to  charge  for 
the  work,  as  they  are  kept  busy  mostly  with  small 
orders,  averaging  say  $15  or  $20  each,  and  such  can  be 
made  to  pay  a  profitable  price  more  easily  than  jobs 
involving  a  thousand  dollars  or  so.  Machines  of  the 
Gordon  type  are  light  and  simple,  do  not  get  out  of 
order  readily,  and  may  be  run  by  boys  with  safety. 
Some  of  the  later  types  of  presses  have  numerous  con- 
veniences and  time-savers  that  are  worthy  of  considera- 
tion. It  is  also  possible  to  have  made  special  mechanical 
appliances  for  jobbers  to  adapt  them  to  special  work, 
and  the  printer  who  has  long  runs  of  anything  out  of 
the  ordinary  will  do  well  to  look  into  such  matters. 

In  operating  job  presses  it  should  be  remembered 
that  there  are  several  little  tricks  by  which  two,  three 
or  even  four  colors  may  be  printed  at  the  labor  of 
a  single   impression.      The   most    practical  of  these   is 


l80  THE    PRESSROOM. 

accomplished  by  dividing  the  form,  and  locking  the  parts 
side  by  side  in  the  chase,  cutting  the  paper  double 
size.  The  sheets  are  then  run  on  one  color,  as  red — 
after  which  the  press  is  washed  up  for  the  other  color, 
as  blue — and  the  two  parts  of  the  form  are  reversed. 
The  result  is  that  one-half  of  the  form  has  the  red  and 
blue  reversed  in  arrangement  from  what  it  is  in  the 
other  half,  but  the  total  number  of  impressions  is  the 
same  as  the  total  of  the  job,  and  every  sheet  is  in  two 
colors.  This  system  saves  only  on  small  runs,  for  on 
a  large  run  it  would  be  just  as  cheap  to  have  electros 
made  and  run  several  at  once,  perhaps  on  a  cylinder. 
Let  the  printer  ever  remember  that  it  is  not  what 
a  press  can  do,  but  what  it  does  do,  that  determines 
final  profit  or  loss  in  the   pressroom. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE   BUSINESS   OFFICE. 

In  the  average  printery  the  business  office  receives 
less  attention  than  any  other  department,  yet  it  is,  in  a 
sense,  the  most  important  of  all,  for  its  mission  is  to 
hold  together  the  mechanical  departments  and  cause 
them  to  develop  a  profit.  When  a  good  business  man 
and  a  good  printer  go  into  opposition  it  is  always  safe 
to  wager  on  the  superior  success  of  the  business  man„ 
The  good  printer  should  note  this,  and  make  himself 
over  into  a  business  man,  bearing  in  mind  that  there 
is  no  object  in  doing  business  except  to  make  a  profit. 
The  business  office  exists  to  see  that  a  profit  is  made, 
and  to  make  that  profit  as  large  as  possible. 

One  of  the  prime  requisites  of  a  business  office  is 
neatness.  A  good  office  is  as  much  entitled  to  display 
good  counters  and  desks  as  is  a  bank  or  a  charitable 
society;  a  good  carpet  or  a  properly  oiled  floor  are  as 
desirable  here  as  in  a  physician's  office  or  clergyman's 
study;  for  these  things  command  the  respect  of  the 
stranger,  who  judges  of  a  man  at  first  sight  by  his 
clothes,  or  of  a  business  by  its  substantial  evidences  of 
prosperity.  Just  as  the  well-dressed  man  commands 
the  most  confidence  at  first  sight,  so  the  well-appointed 
business  office  suggests  to  the  prospective  customer 
who  calls  that  he  is  in  a  place  where  good  printing 
and  fair  treatment   may  be    expected. 


1 82  THE   BUSINESS   OFFICE. 

The  printer  who  does  his  business  in  a  dingy  room, 
or  on  an  old  desk  in  the  corner  of  the  office,  is  like  the 
antiquated  countryman  who  wears  a  hat  of  a  fashion 
twenty  years  old — lacking  in  proper  self-respect.  Only 
those  who  personally  know  his  virtues  and  substantial 
qualities  will  believe  that  he  has  anything  special  to 
commend  him.  With  good  chairs,  desks,  counters, 
shelving,  and  sample  cases,  and  neatly  tinted  walls  and 
ceilings,  with  attractive  window  shades,  etc.,  the  busi- 
ness office  is  well  arranged  for  trade. 

If  a  firm  of  printers  make  a  specialty  of  doing 
ornate  work,  and  desires  to  impress  customers  that  its 
grade  of  printing  is  much  superior  to  the  average,  it  is 
well  to  fit  up  the  business  office  more  like  a  studio, 
with  framed  specimens  of  color  work  on  the  walls, 
portieres  at  the  entrances,  etc.  Two  customers  out  of 
three  will  have  more  confidence  that  they  can  secure 
an  extra  fine  grade  of  work  in  such  a  place  than  where 
the  office  appointments  are  of  a  simple  character. 

Even  in  the  office  of  a  very  small  printery  it  pays 
to  have  a  book-keeper  and  typewriter.  An  intelligent 
young  person  in  this  capacity  can  save  fully  half  of  a 
proprietor's  time,  and  give  him  the  chance  to  do  a 
hundred  things  that  otherwise  might  be  neglected. 
The  proprietor  or  manager  should  keep  his  own  desk 
neat  and  presentable.  I  once  knew  a  proprietor  whose 
habits  were  so  peculiar  that  he  never  could  get  through 
with  the  letters  or  papers  he  handled  so  as  to  permit 
them  to  be  filed,  but  left  them  sprawled  about  his  desk 
until  it  was  so  loaded  that  there  was  no  room  to  work; 
then  he  let  the  cover  down,  and  did  his  work  on  the 
outside  and  on  the  slides,  and  when  these  were  also 
loaded,  he  moved  a  clerk  and  appropriated  his  desk,  so 


THE    BUSINESS    OFFICE.  l8^ 

great  was  his  aversion  to  clearing  up  his  own.  This 
is  cited  as  an  example  of  what  slovenliness  may  lead 
to,  and  as  an  instance  of  "how  not  to  do." 

The  next  essential  in  the  business  office  is  the  hav- 
ing on  hand  at  all  times  of  a  man  competent  to  talk 
to  customers,  take  orders,  and  make  prices.  This  work 
is  by  long  odds  the  most  important  in  the  business,  for 
on  the  price  obtained  and  satisfaction  of  the  customer 
depends  the  prosperity  of  the  whole  establishment.  A 
practical  printer  is  usually  required  for  this  position, 
because  of  the  necessity  for  knowledge  of  all  the  details 
of  production,  but  it  is  even  more  essential  that  the 
ordertaker  should  be  a  good  figurer  and  capable  sales- 
man— a  man  who  knows  the  cost  of  work,  and  who 
can  satisfy  the  customer  that  he  is  getting  value  for  his 
money.  The  duties  of  such  a  man  are  fully  outlined  in 
the  chapters  on  ''Taking  Orders"  and  **  How  to  Talk 
to  Customers."  To  obtain  a  profit  it  is  necessary  to 
charge  and  collect  more  than  all  the  direct  and  indirect 
costs;  and  to  get  customers  to  pay  the  price  asked  re- 
quires good  management  and  a  knowledge  of  human 
nature. 

The  business  office  is  to  the  balance  of  a  printery 
what  a  man's  head  is  to  his  body.  It  is  here  that  the 
brains  must  be  applied  to  make  the  whole  establish- 
ment a  success.  It  is  a  mistake  for  a  proprietor  to  do 
his  own  work  in  the  composing-room  and  pressroom. 
He  should  hire  workers  and  devote  his  time  to  running 
the  business;  conducting  the  business  office  so  as  to 
extract  a  profit  from  everything  that  comes  in  his  way, 
or  that  he  can  bring  into  his  way.  It  is  not  the 
amount  of  work  done  in  an  establishment  during  a 
year  that    determines     prosperity,    but    the   amount   of 


1 84  THE   BUSINESS   OFFICE. 

profit  extracted  from  the  work.  Better  is  $5,000  worth 
of  work  at  $1,000  profit,  than  $10,000  worth  of  work 
at  $1,000  profit,  for  the  former  involves  less  bother  and 
better  chance  of  getting  more  work  at  the  higher  profit 
in  the  future. 

The  business  office  should  keep  itself  informed  of 
the  exact  production,  exact  cost,  and  exact  profit  or 
loss  on  every  piece  of  work  done  in  the  printery  every 
day  in  the  year.  By  keeping  separate  accounts  for  each 
department,  it  is  possible  to  know  if  any  one  depart- 
ment is  being  carried  at  a  loss,  or  without  profit,  and 
if  so  to  raise  prices  in  that  department.  It  does  not 
make  any  difference  what  other  printers  are  doing  or 
charging;  it  is  the  business  of  the  business  office  to  see 
that  the  prices  on  work  in  every  department  are  profit- 
able, for  if  they  are  not  made  to  pay,  it  is  better  to 
close  them  up  than  to  bother  with  their  unprofitable 
maintenance. 

It  is  an  important  problem  to  decide  whom  to  trust, 
and  how  much  trust  to  give,  yet  it  is  a  question  that 
cannot  be  shirked  by  the  business  office,  for  it  is  uni- 
versally agreed  that  it  is  impractical  to  do  printing  on 
a  cash  with  the  order  basis.  The  goods  manufactured 
by  the  printer  are  commonly  of  no  use  whatever  except 
to  the  customer;  if  he  fails  to  pay  for  them  and  leaves 
them  on  the  printer's  hands  they  are  nothing  but  old 
junk.  Hence  the  printer  must  be  more  careful  in  mak- 
ing credits  than  the  builder,  who  retains  a  lien  on  the 
house;  or  the  tailor,  who  can  refit  the  clothes  to  an- 
other customer.  The  stranger  always  should  be  asked 
for  a  deposit  on  small  work.  If  he  brings  in  large 
work,  he  should  have  a  satisfactory  commercial  rating 
or   excellent    references,   and    also    pay    a   considerable 


THE   BUSINESS   OFFICE.  I«5 

portion  of  cash  down  with  the  order.  If  his  work  in- 
volves the  purchase  of  a  large  amount  of  paper  (as  a 
publication),  it  is  a  good  plan  to  ask  the  customer  to 
buy  his  own  paper,  and  to  put  in  your  contract  with 
him  that  you  may  hold  any  paper  delivered  to  you  for 
the  customer  as  collateral  security  for  unpaid  balances. 
It  is  also  advisable  to  place  in  contracts  some  stipula- 
tion as  to  the  extent  of  the  credit,  such  as  that  when 
the  credit  exceeds  the  sum  of  $i,ooo  all  work  shall 
cease  where  it  is  until  a  payment  is  made. 

The  printer  cannot  be  too  careful  in  looking  into 
the  individual  character  of  a  new  customer  requesting 
some  credit.  It  is  not  only  dishonesty  that  he  has  to 
look  out  for,  but  undue  exactions.  The  difficulty  of 
printing  a  job  wholly  to  a  customer's  satisfaction,  and 
the  fact  that  when  done  it  is  worth  nothing  to  the 
printer,  affords  the  unfair  customer  a  tremendous  ad- 
vantage in  accepting  work  and  closing  a  transaction. 
Suppose  it  is  a  job  involving  $3,000,  and  the  customer 
has  made  payments  to  the  amount  of  $2,000.  On  the 
completion  of  the  job  he  finds  fault  with  certain  trifling 
typographical  errors  or  minor  inelegancies,  which  can 
usually  be  found  in  a  large  job,  and  insists  that  because 
of  these  the  job  is  not  worth  over  $2,500  or  $2,600. 
The  printer  may  feel  that  he  is  a  little  lame  on  some 
of  the  claims,  and  that  it  will  be  cheaper  to  compro- 
mise for  $2,800  than  to  sue  for  the  balance  due.  The 
job  is  therefore  let  go  with  all  the  profit  shaved  off. 
Such  a  customer  is  not  to  be  trusted.  The  printer  has 
to  be  on  his  guard  against  him  all  the  time. 

Beware  of  the  customer  who  comes  from  you  know 
not  where,  and  establishes  an  acquaintance  with  you  on 
the  strength  of  a  few  small  cnsh  jobs,  and  then   leaves 


l86  THE   BUSINESS   OFFICE. 

a  large  order  with  the  nominal  understanding  that  it  is 
to  be  paid  for  on  delivery.  Never  accept  such  an 
order  without  some  cash  or  security,  and  do  not  deliver 
any  of  the  goods  until  you  get  all  the  money.  The 
customer  may  be  an  honest  man,  but  such  methods  are 
commonly  adopted  by  dead-beat  advertising  schemers 
and  the  like.  The  only  safe  way  is  to  give  no  trust  to 
chance  acquaintances,  but  only  to  those  having  a  com- 
mercial rating  or  satisfactory  references.  Even  then  you 
must  expect  to  lose  two  per  cent,  in  bad  bills. 

There  is  nothing  like  properly  written  contracts  to 
protect  printers  from  loss  as  a  result  of  misunderstand- 
ings. Every  possible  point  of  dispute  should  be  placed 
in  writing.  This  may  be  done  by  an  exchange  of  let- 
ters, or  a  written  order,  or  in  the  case  of  very  large 
jobs  by  a  regular  contratt  drawn  by  a  lawyer.  In  all 
such  contracts  the  printer  should  limit  the  amount  of 
credit;  specify  for  time  charges  for  all  changes  and  de- 
lays; demand  that  no  deductions  be  made  for  trifling 
errors  ;  and  guarantee  only  reasonable  accuracy.  If 
there  is  a  penalty  in  the  contract  against  the  printer  for 
delays,  he  must  see  that  it  is  not  applicable  in  case  of 
fire,  strike,  riot,  etc.  The  wise  printer  will  always 
exact  a  higher  price  for  work  on  which  he  is  liable  to 
a  penalty  if  not  delivered  on  time,  because  he  then 
takes  risks  for  which  there  must  be  compensation  in 
the  price. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  the  business  office  the 
printery  is  a  combination  of  machines,  which  must  be 
made  to  produce  at  a  less  cost  than  the  price  that  can 
be  obtained  in  selling.  The  management  must  know 
the  cost  of  all  details,  and  make  prices  that  will  yield 
a  margin  for  profit,  else  it   is   inefficient.      Good  prices 


THE   BUSINESS   OFFICE.  187 

are  to  be  had  only  by  asking  for  them  and  giving  such 
good  satisfactory  service  that  customers  are  wilHng  to 
pay  what  is  asked.  It  takes  time,  patience,  talent, 
push,  and  experience,  to  build  up  a  valuable  business, 
and  such  cannot  be  accomplished  through  any  **  Cheap 
John "  methods.  There  is  no  royal  road  to  fortune  in 
printing  any  more  than  in  any  other  line  of  business. 
One  must  be  a  plodder,  systematize  things  and  look 
out  for  the  profit  on  everything.  This  is  the  chief  ob- 
ject of  the  business  office.  It  would  be  possible  to 
run  a  printery  without  a  business  office  if  profit  were 
not  desired.  Since  the  profit  is  the  essential  thing,  it 
follows  that  the  business  office  is  the  most  important 
part  of  a  printing  establishment.  If  you  run  your  busi- 
ness office  rightly  you  can  make  money;  if  you  let  it 
run  itself  you  will  run  out  of  business  after  a  while. 
The  proprietor  of  a  printing  office  should  not  work 
so  hard  that  he  gets  tired  and  keeps  tired  all  the  time, 
for  then  he  does  not  have  the  proper  use  of  his  brains. 
He  should  keep  himself  fresh,  and  study  new  methods 
of  decreasing  cost  and  increasing  output,  and  the  secur- 
ing of  paying  prices.  If  he  does  not  take  time  to  think 
of  newer  and  better  ways  of  running  his  business, 
others  who  do  think  will  get  ahead  of  him.  He  re- 
quires to  watch  his  trade  as  a  speculator  watches  the 
stock-ticker,  and  like  a  mariner  trim  his  sails  whenever 
he  sees  an  approaching  change  in  the  wind.  He  should 
know  what  other  successful  printers  are  doing,  and  how 
they  get  good  prices  for  their  work.  To  this  end  he 
should  cultivate  a  friendly  feeling  with  his  competitors, 
and  when  in  other  cities  call  on  leading  printers  and 
invite  an  exchange  of  ideas.  Many  a  man  who  is  es- 
teemed as  rather  dull  by  his  fellows  succeeds  in   busi- 


l88  THE   BUSINESS   OFFICE. 

ness  simply  by  the  thoroughness  with  which  he  studies 
the  methods  of  others,  and  applies  their  successful  ideas 
to  his  own  affairs. 

The  writer  deplores  the  making  of  price  lists  as 
generally  objectionable.  While  recognizing  that  they 
are  more  or  less  necessary  to  existing  conditions  of 
trade,  and  may  be  often  the  means  of  upholding  prices, 
yet  they  are  also  often  the  means  of  keeping  down 
charges,  by  the  leveling  of  all  work.  What  I  mean  by 
this  is,  that  if  m  a  price  list,  billheads  for  instance,  are 
quoted  at  so  much  per  i,ooo  for  a  given  size,  there  is 
no  leeway  for  any  peculiar  conditions  in  the  job.  A  job 
properly  placed  in  a  price  list  at  $5  may  be  worth  $10 
if  wanted  delivered  in  five  hours,  or  if  wanted  for  a 
customer  noted  for  his  fussiness  and  delays  and  changes. 
There  are  a  score  of  circumstances  that  may  render  it 
wise  or  obligatory  that  the  first  price  should  be  much 
higher  than  under  ordinary  conditions.  A  price  list  sup- 
poses that  cost  is  always  the  same,  whereas  in  reality 
it  is  always  different,  and  as  the  printer  can  judge 
much  better  of  the  cost  at  the  time  he  is  about  to  do 
the  job,  with  the  copy  in  hand,  than  can  any  price 
list,  he  should  be  privileged  to  vary  or  raise  the  price 
according  to  such  conditions.  He  is  not  bound  to 
lower  a  standard  price  because  he  happens  to  be  able 
to  turn  out  the  work  more  cheaply  than  usual — that  is 
the  accident  of  fortune  of  which  he  must  avail  himself 
in  order  to  increase  his  profits.  He  is  under  obligation 
to  himself  to  raise  the  charge  with  every  increase  in 
cost,  however  temporary  or  irregular,  his  sufficient  ex- 
cuse being  that  he  cannot  make  a  profit  on  the  work 
otherwise,  and   why  should   he   work  without    profit  ? 

It  is  a  homely  proverb    that    soft   soap  goes    further 


THE    BUSINESS   OFFICE.  1 89 

than  hard,  meaning  for  us  that  a  little  pleasant  talk  is 
frequently  useful  in  business  transactions.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  display  truckling  or  obsequious  qualities, 
yet  it  is  folly  not  to  show  a  distinct  desire  to  please 
customers,  and  to  make  them  comfortable  generally. 
A  man  who  buys  printing  likes  rather  to  have  his 
reading  matter  approved  than  regarded  with  doubt.  If 
the  printer  cannot  approve  of  his  customer's  copy,  or 
assist  its  improvement,  he  had  better  say  nothing  as  to 
its  character;  but  if  he  can  throw  in  a  few  words  of 
appreciation  as  to  the  get  up  of  the  thing — of  the 
idea  involved — he  will  certainly  stand  a  better  chance 
of  keeping  the  customer. 

The  young  printer  who  knows  he  has  all  to  learn 
in  business  should  not  be  shy  of  going  to  his  older 
competitors  for  pomters,  When  they  know  that  these 
pointers  are  desired  to  keep  up  prices,  usually  they 
will  give  them  freely.  Let  the  master  printer  run  the 
business  end  of  his  printery  with  all  the  knowledge 
and  skill  he  can  gather,  and  all  the  new  methods  that 
commend  themselves  as  better  than  the  old,  and  he 
will  prosper. 

First  get  the  business;  then  get  the  price;  then  give 
good  work  promptly;  then  conduct  the  plant  econom- 
ically, and  you  will  be  managing  your  business  office 
on  the  right  lines. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

BOOKKEEPING. 

The  average  small  printer  in  business  keeps  books  in 
a  very  irregular,  disorderly  way.  He  can  seldom  tell 
anything  about  a  job  printed  a  year  ago,  though  he  may 
find  some  traces  of  it  on  an  old  strand  of  wire  used  as 
a. file.  He  can  never  be  quite  sure  whether  he  has  paid 
the  paper  man  for  envelopes  bought  six  months  before, 
and  the  chances  are  that  even  his  cash  account  is  un- 
certain, as  he  has  the  habit  of  paying  for  small  things 
•out  of  his  pocket,  and  entering  them  up  later  at  some 
convenient  time.  He  either  undertakes  to  remember 
the  details  of  orders  that  he  takes,  or  scribbles  them 
partially  on  the  back  of  the  copy.  A  cash  account  and 
a  ledger  are  about  all  the  books  he  cares  to  bother  with, 
and  the  entries  in  these  are  frequently  in  lead  pencil. 
This  sort  of  bookkeeping  may  be  partly  excusable  for  a 
printer  who  starts  a  plant  with  a  force  of  one  boy,  but 
if  the  office  develops,  the  system  of  bookkeeping  should 
develop  also,  else  the  proprietor  will  lose  track  of  what 
he  is  doing,  and  ran  along  with  very  little  idea  as  to 
what  he  is  making,  or  whether  he  is  simply  earning 
wages.  As  to  knowing  what  is  the  profit  on  particular 
jobs  it  is  out  of  the  question  without  proper  bookkeep- 
ing, as  all  becomes  guesswork. 


BOOKKEEPING.  I9I 

As  soon  as  an  office  acquires  enough  business  so  that 
the  bookkeeping  occupies  a  considerable  part  of  the 
proprietor's  time,  he  should  engage  a  bookkeeper  (who 
may  also  be  a  collector,  typewritist  and  office  assistant), 
and  have  the  books  kept  in  a  systematic  way,  so  that 
he  may  know  at  all  times  just  what  he  is  doing,  and 
how  his  business  stands.  The  method  of  bookkeeping 
must  vary  largely  with  the  size  of  the  plant  and  the 
character  of  the  work,  but  the  books  should  be  so  kept 
as  to  show  the  cost  of  all  work  at  regular  intervals,  the 
receipts,  outstanding  accounts  and  profits.  The  printer 
who  fails  to  keep  closely  in  touch  with  his  cost  of 
production  is  liable  to  under-charge  and  lose  money, 
and  be  unaware  of  it  for  perhaps  a  year  or  two.  If  his 
accounts  show  him  at  monthly  intervals  just  where  he 
stands,  he  will  not  be  likely  to  commit  a  mistake  in 
the  way  of  quoting  prices  at  or  below  cost. 

Following  will  be  found  a  description  of  the  system 
of  bookkeeping  which  is  used  at  the  Lotus  Press,  and 
which  has  proven  satisfactory: 

Envelope  System  for  Insuring  Correct  Handling  of 
Jobs. — The  outside  of  this  envelope  is  a  job  ticket,  as 
will  be  noted  from  the  reproduction  here  shown.  Being 
in  envelope  form  it  serves  to  carry  the  copy,  etc.,  better 
than  if  pinned  to  the  ticket.  The  size  used  is  6^  x  ()%, 
and  the  quality  a  stout  manila.  When  an  order  is  taken, 
one  of  these  numbered  envelopes  is  made  out,  the  num- 
ber on  the  envelope  being  also  the  number  of  the  job. 
The  envelope  holds  the  copy,  and  all  the  instructions  for 
the  composing-room  and  pressrooms  are  placed  outside. 
It  is  the  duty  of  the  compositor,  pressman,  feeder,  cutter, 
binder,  etc.,  to  mark  on  this  envelope  the  time  he  spends 
on  the  job.     This  time  must  correspond  with  the  time 


192 


BOOKKEEPING. 


charged  on  the  workman's  time  ticket  for  this  number 
of  job.     As  the  workman   is   paid   by  the   time   ticket, 


JlV.tJJlh 199..?.: 


No. 


24801 


Name. 

John 

Smith 

Kind  of  Work.. 

2,000 

Catalogues 

Size.... 

JA.^J. 

Y?—'AM 

.  and  Cover 

Pads Ink ^^^^^ 


Proof.J.lt!!Ll9.^A....  Job  wanted J±^lJA^A'.Jil9..d:.M: 


Compositor. 


Alterations 


Pressman 

HOURS 

MINUTES 

Feeder „ _  .    . 

Pressman 

Feeder 

Stock  24  X  38-jo  Jb.  Super,  white 

Cover,  22  X  28-48  lb.  H.  L.  Rose 


All  Copy,  Proof,  Revise  and  Sample  of  Work  to  be  returned  to  office  In  this  envelope. 


Delivered MlJjlb.. 1 99..?: 

Deliver  to 


No.  Sheets 
Sent  to  Press 


Remarks.. 


BOOKKEEPING.  1 93 

this  practically  insures  the  giving  of  correct  time,  a 
very  necessary  thing,  as  the  cost  is  figured  from  this 
time. 

As  the  envelope  is  meant  for  general  circulation 
through  the  printery,  it  is  proper  that  it  should  not 
bear  the  price  of  the  job,  or  other  details  which  concern 
only  the  business  office.  A  ticket  is  therefore  made 
out,  with  the  same  number  as  the  envelope,  and  on 
this  is  placed  the  name,  address,  price  given,  and 
all  private  information.  This  ticket  never  leaves  the 
office : 


By ?:J^: r 

Delivered t^lJI^i.. 

Name J^^".J'".'^^. 

Address f^9 2-6//;  _  ^;d.;////^ 


199. 


Ledger ^^..^L )  Charge 

Sales  Book P^g^jO )  $..  ./.«^:.'J«. 


2,000  Ccitalos^ues 


This  Ticket  must  not  go  outside  of  office. 


On  the  back  of  this  ticket    appear  all  expenses    in- 
curred in  the  production  of  the  work,  as  follows: 


J  94  BOOKKEEPING. 


Composition   (See  envelope) 

Presswork  (See  envelope) 

Paper 

Plates 

Engraving 

Perforating _ 

Eyeletting 

Numbering 

Cutting.: 

Binding 

Packing  and   delivering 


By  totaling  the  above  and  adding  the  general 
expense,  etc.,  the  cost  of  each  job  is  accurately  as- 
certained, and  the  price  charged  is  based  on  this 
known  cost  in  cases  where  estimates  have  not  been 
given. 

In  connection  with  the  envelope  system  there  is 
maintained  a  **Proof-Out  Drawer,"  in  which  the  envelope, 
and  such  contents  as  do  not  have  to  go  out  with  a 
proof,  are  placed,  and  remain  there  until  the  proof  is 
returned.  This  drawer  affords  an  instant  key  to  all  work 
that  is  waiting  on  proofs,  and  avoids  the  danger  of  a 
job  being  put  in  type  for  a  customer,  and  never  being 
billed  or  paid  for,  should  he  change  his  mind  and  retain 
the  proof,  never  sending  an  order  to  print. 


BOOKKEEPING. 


»95 


An  order  book  is  kept  in  which  all  orders  are  made 
out  and  carried  by  the  number  on  the  envelope.  In 
this  book  the  columns  are  arranged   as  follows: 


Order  Rec'd 

No.  of  Envelope 

NAME 

JOB 

Delivered 

June   24 

24801 

John  Smith 

2,000  Catalogues 

JuJj;  75,  '99 

24802 

24803 

The  Order  Book  and  Ledger. — The  names  of  the 
customers  are  used  in  indexing  this  order  book,  so  that 
when  there  is  a  query  by  a  customer  about  a  certain 
job — new  or  old — it  can  be  located  in  its  envelope  by 
the  number,  without  delay. 

No  more  bookkeeping  is  done  until  the  job  is  finished, 
and  then  it  is  closed  on  the  order  book  by  entering  the 
date  of  delivery.  As  a  check,  to  insure  correctness,  it 
is  required  that  the  date  of  delivery  be  entered  in  the 
order  book  and  on  the  office  ticket  at  the  same  time, 
that  is  without  permitting  anything  to  intrude  between 
the  two  entries.  When  the  job  is  finished  the  envelope 
is  returned  to  the  office,  where  the  ticket  is  attached  to 
it,  and  the  billing  and  charging  follows.  The  charging 
is  done  directly  into  the  ledger,  which  is  ruled  to  order 
thus: 

(page)      ni 


Join 

n  Smith 

Da.                                                                    Cr. 

'999 
July  I  ? 

2,000  Catalogues 

24801 

$102 

1 

196 


BOOKKEEPING. 


The  ledger  page  is    then    marked  on  the  ticket  and 
the  charge  is  entered  in  the  sales  book,  thus: 


Date 


July  1^ 


Order  No. 


24,801 


John  Smith 


Ledger 
Page 


PRICE 


$102 


The  total  sales  are  credited  to  the  Sales  Account  in 
the  ledger  at  the  end  of  the  month.  This  manner  of 
entering  directly  into  the  ledger  and  sales  book  saves 
an  endless  amount  of  journalizing,  and  also  avoids  errors. 
When  the  ledger  page,  the  sales  book  page  and  the 
date  of  delivery  in  the  order  book  have  been  marked 
on  the  ticket  it  is  ready  for  filing.  The  ticket  is  placed 
inside  the  envelope,  and  the  envelopes  are  then  kept  in 
boxes  made  for  that  purpose,  of  a  size  to  hold  fifty 
envelopes.  These  boxes  are  labeled  in  good  legible  print 
"24800  to  24850"  (for  instance)  and  are  kept  on  access- 
ible shelves. 

Each  item  charged  in  the  ledger,  it  will  be  noticed, 
is  marked  with  the  envelope  or  order  number,  and  the 
kind  and  quantity  of  the  work  is  also  stated,  so  that 
when  a  duplicate  order  is  received  or  an  old  sample 
wanted  it  can  be  found  in  a  minute  by  referring  to  the 
ledger  for  the  number,  and  then  getting  the  corresponding 
envelope  out  of  the  box.  This  handy  way  of  referring 
to  previous  work  is  very  satisfactory  to  the  customer  as 
well  as  to  the  printer. 

The  Invoice  Book  and  Credit  Ledger  Combined. — 
Small  printers  are  very  apt  to  omit  bookkeeping  with 
the  people  of  whom  they  buy.  They  think  that  they 
are  sure  to  be  billed    for  all  they  owe,   and    that    they 


BOOKKEEPING. 


197 


can  remember  whether  the  charges  are  correct.  In  this 
way  they  lay  themselves  open,  not  so  much  to  the 
dishonesty  of  the  firms  they  patronize,  for  there  are  few 
houses  that  would  deliberately  take  advantage  of  such 
a  state  of  affairs,  but  rather  to  the  carelessness  of  clerks 
in  the  employ  of  the  saleshouses.  The  Lotus  Press  has 
found  it  convenient  to  enter  all  invoices  directly  into  an 
**  Invoice  or  Credit  Ledger,  "  and  no  invoices  are  entered 
here  unless  they  are  checked  to  show  that  the  goods 
have  been  received;  each  item  is  also  marked  with  the 
name  of  the  job  for  which  it  was  used.  This  method 
of  marking  each  item  with  the  name  of  the  job  helps 
to  avoid  double  entries  of  the  same  items. 

It  is  a  common  error  for  clerks,  where  stock  has 
been  changed  to  fail  to  give  credit,  and  to  bill  the 
printer  for  both  lots  when  he  retained  and  used  but 
one  lot.  At  the  Lotus  Press,  when  anything  is  returned 
(whether  a  credit  bill  is  received  or  not),  it  is  crossed 
off  the  memorandum  account  on  the  invoice  or  credit 
ledger,  or  the  amount    is    deducted   at  the   end   of  the 


550        (pace) 


John  Jones 


(page)        551 


Memorandum  Acct. 


Name  of 
Customer 


Hall 


May  50 
June  10 


Page 

May  acct.    ^-  f  7 

^ash  1 6 


$2? 


$2f 


94 


IJournal 


May  s 


1  j-20  Rm.  28x42 

60  Sup.    WhiU 
at  4c 

2  Rm.  28x42--;  1;- 

^00     Laid,     at 

lY^c 

/  Rm.  24x38-80- 
^00  Nat' I  at  4r. 

1  to-20  Rm.  2^x 
40-tio  Green 
Enamel,  at  jc. 


$2 

16 

6? 

12 

80 

11 

?7 

72 

14 

Hock 


Simpaon 


Brown 

Carried  to 

page  (;i;6. 


198  BOOKKEEPING. 

month  before  entering  the  total  to  the  credit  of  the 
creditor.  In  this  manner  all  bills  are  entered  and  then 
journalized  by  totals  at  the  end  of  the  month. 

The  tabulated  specimen  on  page  197  shows  the 
manner  of  keeping  the  "Invoice  or  Credit  Ledger," 
showing  opposite  pages,  one  the  memorandum  account 
and  the  other  the  actual  account. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  all  items  are  entered  in  ^ 
''Memorandum  Account"  and  that  at  the  end  of  the 
month  the  total  is  carried  to  the  account  page.  In 
this  way  one  page  will  do  for  the  actual  accounting 
and  the  following  pages  (Dr.  as  well  as  Cr.)  can  be 
used  for  the  itemizing  of  the  invoices. 

The  total  for  the  month  is  then  charged  to  **  Stock 
and  Outside  Work  Account,  "by  a  single  monthly 
journal  entry  instead  of  by  numerous  daily  entries. 
Where  a  great  deal  of  stock  is  bought  the  saving  of 
time  by  this  manner  of  entering  can  readily  be  appre- 
ciated. The  '' Memorandum  Accounts"  are  exceedingly 
handy  for  reference,  avoiding  the  necessity  of  referring 
to  the  journal  or  to  the  invoice  book  or  to  the  invoice 
file,  etc. 

Estimates. — The  estimates  are  made  out  on  a  sheet, 
letter  size,  and  to  this  sheet  are  attached  all  communi- 
cations referring  to  the  estimate,  such  as  the  original  letter 
of  inquiry,  the  typewritten  carbon  copy  reply,  and  all 
outside  estimates  for  paper,  electros,  engraving,  etc.,  etc. 
These  sheets  are  filed  in  a  common  letter  file  and  are 
easily  referred  to.  This  method  of  keeping  estimates 
with  all  information  attached  has  proved  very  convenient 
and  less  cumbersome  than  keeping  them  in  books, 
in  connection  with  which  it  is  always  necessary  to 
look  up  this    letter  or  that    letter    in    the  file,    which 


BOOKKEEPING. 


199 


creates  loss  of  time   and   generally  a  great  deal  of  an- 
noyance. 


Estimate  for  M 

Address 

Description 

Quantity 

Size 

Colors  .„ 


Composition 

Press 

Paper 

Composition 

Press      . 

Paper 

Plates     . 


Sketches 

Engraving  . 

Perforating 

Eyeletting 

Numbering 

Cutting 


Packing  and  Delivering 
Binding 


Estimate  given  $.. 


Total  . 
Percentage 
Grand  Total 


Monthly  Profit  and  Loss  Account. — The  system  of 
accounts  employed  by  the  Lotus  Press  makes  it  possible 
to  get  out  a   monthly  profit  and   loss  account.     This  is 


200  BOOKKEEPING. 

done  by  closing  accounts  each  month  as  per  the  table 
below.  The  "Stock  and  Outside  Work  Account  "in- 
cludes everything  that  is  used  in  the  production  of  the 
finished  job,  such  as  paper,  ink,  postals,  etc.,  etc: 

May  lotli,  April  rent  and  power  .     .     $300  April  sales     .     $10,000 

"     wages 3,000  Discounts  taken         90 

"     stock    and    outside 

work  ....  4,050 
''  general  expense  .  .  1,000 
"  discounts  allowed  .  90 
"  complimentary  printing  30 
"  office  printing  .  .  30 
"  Profit  ( gross )  .  .  1,590 
( Carried  to  yearly  profit 

and  loss  acct.)        .     $10,090  $io,oqo 


In  case  more  stock  and  outside  work  is  charged 
during  the  month  to  that  account  than  is  used  during 
the  month,  a  balance  can  be  left  on  the  account,  or 
better  yet  carried  to  a  standing  account  with  an  average 
balance  of  stock  on  hand,  which  can  be  increased  or 
diminished  according  to  the  estimated  stock   on    hand. 

The  totals  of  monthly  profit  are  carried  to  a  yearly 
profit  and  loss  account,  where  such  items  as  dead 
accounts,  interest  on  money,  loss  on  machinery  by  wear 
and  tear,  insurance,  accident  insurance,  advertising,  and 
all  other  extra  yearly  expenses  of  all  kinds  ca^i  be 
entered. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

MANAGEMENT   OF    EMPLOYEES. 

No  matter  how  correctly  a  master  printer  may 
estimate,  no  matter  how  closely  he  may  buy  his  stock, 
no  matter  how  well  he  may  know  his  trade,  if  he 
has  not  the  co-operation  of  his  employees,  he  will  have 
a  hard  road  to  money-making.  The  workman  who 
hates  the  boss  can  always  injure  him  surreptitiously  to 
a  greater  amount  than  he  earns  above  board.  It  is 
then  to  the  interest  of  every  master  printer  to  stand 
well  with  his  men,  to  cultivate  a  spirit  of  interest  in 
the  business,  a  patriotism  for  the  good  name  and 
credit  of  the  firm.  This  can  be  accomplished  only  by 
being  absolutely  fair  with  employees,  and  carefully 
preserving  their  good  will.  It  is  a  fact  that  some  em- 
ployers who  pay  small  wages  secure  more  willing 
service  than  others  who  pay  the  scale  and  over,  simply 
because  of  their  cordial  and  friendly  ways.  A  wise 
liberality  combined  with  a  strict  holding  to  account  are 
the  secrets  of  securing  good  service. 

1  have  been  told  that  one  of  Theo.  L.  De  Vinne's 
rules  was  "Know  what  a  man  can  do,  and  see  that 
he  does  it."  Certain  it  is  that  at  the  De  Vinne  Press 
every  man  does  a  full  day's  work,  and  no  set  of  men 
ever  revered  an  employer  more,  for  his  kindness  and 
liberality  went  hand  in  hand  with  exact  strictness. 


202  ,  MANAGEMENT   OF   EMPLOYEES. 

In  order  to  insure  the  constant  pushing  along  of 
work,  and  a  production  that  is  at  all  times  equal  to 
the  ability  of  the  men,  an  employer  must  do  more  than 
establish  a  system  of  daily  reports.  He  must  either 
know  directly,  or  through  some  superintendent  or 
manager  in  each  department,  according  to  the  size  of 
the  office,  just  what  each  man  does  every  day.  If  he 
does  not,  he  will  be  constantly  paying  wages  to  some 
men  who  do  not  earn  them.  When  an  employee  feels 
that  some  one  above  him  actually  knows  just  what  he 
does  every  day,  and  when  he  is  jogged  up  on  days  of 
small  results,  but  gets  a  word  of  praise  on  days  of 
hustling,  then  he  is  apt  to  do  the  best  work  of  which 
he  is  capable.  The  careful  manager  will  make  a  daily 
tour  among  all  the  men  and  pass  a  word  or  two  with 
each,  to  let  them  know  that  he  is  in  touch  with  what 
they  are  doing.  It  will  be  to  one,  "Are  you  going 
to  get  up  your  five  pages  of  this  to-day,  Jones  ?  You 
did  a  big  day  Thursday.  I'm  looking  to  see  you  beat 
it."  And  to  another,  "Ten  o'clock,  Jimmy,  and  only 
2,000  off.  You're  not  breaking  a  record  on  this  press 
to-day.  Had  to  change  that  plate,  eh  .^  Well,  do  it 
right,  and  we  will  find 'no  fault."  And  to  a  third, 
*'  Will  you  get  all  the  forms  of  Carruther's  book  to 
press  this  week  ?  I  hope  you  can,  as  they  are  pushing 
us  hard  for  them.  Get  them  through,  and  your  efforts 
will  be  appreciated." 

The  employer  who  talks  that  way  to  his  men  lets 
them  know  that  if  they  loaf,  he  will  know  it.  And 
if  he  accompanies  these  injunctions  to  rush  by  a  wise 
payment  for  holidays,  and  a  due  regard  for  the  comfort 
of  his  men,  he  will  get  the  best  results.  I  abominate 
the  keeping  of  men  to  the  mark  by  any  system  of  fines. 


MANAGEMENT   OF    EMPLOYEES.  20J 

or  anything  that  tends  to  degrade  them.  When  yoa 
find  that  you  have  men  whom  you  cannot  make  work 
well,  and  keep  up  to  the  mark,  or  who  work  against 
your  interests,  discharge  them  relentlessly.  If  you  have 
disturbing  elements  in  your  force,  men  who  inflame 
the  others  to  discontent  and  strikes,  get  rid  of  them 
quietly  at  your  convenience.  No  matter  how  good  a 
workman  a  man  may  be,  he  becomes  a  damage  the 
moment  he  begins  to  work  against  the  profit-earning  of 
an  office,  and  to  sow   discontent  among  the  force. 

Every  office  is  troubled  more  or  less  with  incom- 
petents. The  best  men  are  scarce ;  men  of  the  middling 
sort  are  common,  and  incompetents  all  too  plenty.  The 
latter  class  have  to  be  taken  on  during  a  rush,  and  are 
laid  off  with  promptness  when  work  slackens.  It  is 
worth  the  while  of  proprietors,  however,  to  study  the 
incompetents,  for  here  and  there  among  them  are  men 
capable  of  making  good  workmen,  but  who  have  failed 
to  learn  to  do  their  work  well  simply  through  unfortu- 
nate circumstances.  The  employing  printers  of  America 
have  much  to  answer  for  in  engaging  boys  ''to  learn  the 
trade,"  and  turning  them  off  when  half  fledged,  with- 
out a  chance  to  finish  their  technical  training.  Young 
men  who  have  been  thus  deceived  are  often  capable  of 
making  first-class  workmen,  if  they  are  taught;  but 
because  they  have  not  the  faculty  of  picking  up  the 
trade  during  the  odd  times  they  get  work,  they  are 
doomed  to  worry  <Jlong,  a  nuisance  to  employers  and 
of  very  little  use  to  themselves. 

A  case  came  to  notice  a  few  years  ago,  of  a  young 
man  who  had  had  about  a  week's  work  in  a  good  office 
during  a  rush,  and  who  was  then  told  that  he  was  no 
longer  wanted.      He   said    to    the    manager,   **I    don't 


204  MANAGEMENT   OF   EMPLOYEES. 

understand  why  it  is  that  I  can't  Keep  a  place.  I  work 
the  hardest  I  know  how,  and  I  have  got  on  in  seven 
oifices  during  the  past  year,  and  yet  not  had  three 
months'  work."  "You  don't  know  your  trade,"  said  the 
manager,  who  had  observed  him,  and  noted  that  he 
was  a  ** blacksmith."  '*1  do  the  best  I  know  how," 
the  man  replied.  ''I'd  do  better  if  I  had  a  chance  in  a 
good  office,  where  they  did  fine  work."  ''Yes,  but  you 
are  not  worth  half  wages  to  us,"  said  the  manager,  **and 
you  think  you  ought  to  have  a  journeyman's  pay."  "  I'd 
work  for  most- anything  where  I  had  a  chance  to  learn," 
said  the  man.  "It's  hard  lines  getting  little  work,  and 
nobody  suited  with  what  I  do."  "Will  you  go  to  work 
for  $7  a  week,"  asked  the  manager,  "  if  I  give  you  a 
chance  to  learn  as  fast  as  your  ability  warrants.^"  "Yes, 
and  be  glad  to."  The  man  went  back  to  the  case,  and 
inside  of  three  years  he  occupied  a  foreman's  desk  in 
that  same  office,  and  drew  $22  every  Saturday  night. 

This  story  is  true,  and  is  only  one  of  many  that 
might  be  told  if  managers  would  take  a  little  interest 
in  poor  fellows  who  never  had  a  chance  to  learn  the 
trade  properly,  and  who  are  so  generally  classed  as 
incompetents,  often  through  the  fault  of  others  quite  as 
much  as  their  own.  If  master  printers  will  take  hold  of 
such  as  are  deserving  and  teach  them  the  trade,  they 
will  confer  a  boon  not  only  on  the  men  taught,  but  the 
trade  generally.  This  is  not  always  possible  under  trades 
union  restrictions,  but  it  is  hoped  that  some  day  unions 
will  cease  to  give  working  cards  to  men  who  have  not 
fully  learned  their  trades,  but  oblige  them  to  serve  as 
apprentices  until  they  become  competent. 

The  harmonious  working  together  of  an  office  force 
is   largely    due   to   the   management   of  the  foreman   or 


MANAGEMENT   OF   EMPLOYEES.  205 

employer,  who  should  be  able  to  so  far  secure  the  good 
will  of  the  men  as  to  prevent  the  development  of  any 
feeling  of  jealousy  between  them,  a  jealousy  that  often 
arises  because  of  the  natural  progress  of  the  younger 
hands,  as  they  are  put  forward  on  better  work,  and 
which  is  often  the  source  of  much  trouble.  The  foreman 
should  insist  upon  such  carefulness  and  thoroughness 
of  work  at  each  stage  of  promotion  that  all  hands  alike 
may  feel  that  any  promotion  made  has  been  well  earned. 

Among  workingmen  of  intelligence,  such  as  are 
usually  found  in  the  printing  office,  the  sense  of  justice 
is  the  best  security  for  an  employer  to  depend  upon 
for  harmonious  working,  and  if  his  employees  have  to 
acknowledge  to  themselves  that  they  are  always  treated 
with  consideration,  that  the  rules  and  order  of  work  in 
the  establishment  are  such  as  are  obviously  necessary  to 
the  successful  prosecution  of  the  business,  they  naturally 
develop,  almost  without  knowing  it,  a  sense  of  interest 
in  the  success  of  the  business,  and  are  desirous  to  con- 
tribute to  its  prosperity,  as  well  as  to  draw  their  wages. 

The  manner  alluded  to  of  entering  and  working  up 
apprentices,  or  boys  and  young  men  to  learn  the  trade, 
is  unquestionably  the  natural  and  most  economical  way 
of  making  good  printers,  doing  justice  to  both  employer 
and  employed.  But  the  degree  of  success  attained  will 
be  largely  due  to  the  proper  management  of  the  employer 
or  the  foremen  who  represent  him.  To  obtain  the  good 
will  of  the  men  it  is  not  necessary  to  be  especially 
familiar  with  them ;  this  is  a  poor  line  of  conduct,  and 
it  is  even  worse  to  exhibit  a  spirit  of  arrogance,  or  a 
disposition  to  be  unduly  arbitrary.  The  employer  who 
lets  a  workman  know  that  he  thinks  he  is  a  better  man 
than  the  employee  generally  makes  an  enemy.    A  modern 


20b  MANAGEMENT  OF  EMPLOYEES. 

printing  office  is  no  place  for  the  display  of  qualities 
that  might  be  essential  to  discipline  on  the  deck  of  a 
battleship  at  sea. 

1  am  rather  opposed  to  formal  rules.  Some,  of  course, 
are  necessary  in  every  establishment,  and  the  larger  the 
plant,  the  more  essential  it  is  that  certain  arbitrary 
regulations  should  be  enforced.  Yet  it  is  a  fact  that  the 
posting  up  of  a  lot  of  hair-splitting  rules  tends  to  breed 
contempt  in  the  minds  of  workmen,  who  are  liable  to 
violate  them  on  every  occasion  that  they  can  do  so  unde- 
tected, simply  because  they  dislike  the  idea  of  such 
restrictions.  In  many  offices  there  are  a  number  of  so- 
called  cast-iron  rules  about  trivial  things,  that  might 
better  never  be  formulated.  Regulations  requiring  the 
keeping  of  the  material  in  order  or  in  the  proper  place, 
do  not  seem  to  call  for  rules,  but  a  general  enforcement 
of  neatness,  so  obvious  is  the  need  of  keeping  things 
orderly  in  a  printing  office.  Men  can  easily  be  brought 
to  see  this,  as  well  as  the  necessity  for  most  other  simple 
matters  of  every-day  discipline,  conducing  to  the  order 
of  the  office,  or  called  for  as  a  principle  of  economy, 
without  the  posting  of  any  arbitrary  rules  on  the  sub- 
ject. 

Another  difficulty  with  hard  and  fast  rules  is  that 
they  make  no  allowance  for  exceptions,  which  are  bound 
to  occur.  No  matter  how  good  a  rule  may  be,  the 
slavish  following  of  it  will  sooner  or  later  lead  to  an 
absurdity  or  contradiction  of  the  desired  end.  I  have 
seen  an  office  where  there  was  a  rule  that  there  should 
be  no  distribution  afternoons,  because  it  interfered  with 
certain  rush  work;  but  in  that  same  office  men  would 
sometimes  spend  half  an  hour  picking  for  sorts  in  an 
-afternoon,    when    they    might    better    have    made    an 


MANAGEMENT   OF   EMPLOYEES.  2Qr{ 

exception  to  the  rule,  and  distributed  the  matter  that 
was  wanted.  I  have  also  seen  the  men  deliberately  sit 
down  and  do  nothing  for  a  half  hour  when  the  foreman 
was  out  and  no  composition  on  hand,  because  they 
must  not  distribute  at  that  hour. 

It  is  better  to  manage  the  men  with  few  rules,  and 
with  a  good  understanding  between  master  and  men, 
so  that  the  necessities  and  customs  of  the  place  be- 
come the  recognized  unwritten  law  of  the  establishment, 
which  it  is  rather  the  pride  of  the  workman  to  uphold, 
and  which  bear  upon  him  with  no  unfeeling  pressure. 
The  men,  especially  where  they  have  grown  up  in  an 
office,  come  to  see  and  appreciate  not  only  the  labor- 
saving  character  of  such  a  course  of  management,  but 
develop  habits  that  affect  their  whole  work,  and  assist 
them  to  bear  in  mind  the  interests  of  the  employer,  as 
in  seeing  that  odd  sorts  are  in  proper  places,  quad 
boxes  kept  clean,  and  a  hundred  and  one  other  matters 
in  which  intelligence,  guided  by  good  will,  may  be 
highly  promotive  of  the  interests  of  the  employer.  This 
is  to  be  recognized  constantly  in  things  so  small  in 
themselves  as  to  hardly  call  for  special  notice,  but  the 
aggregate  of  good  or  ill  to  the  business  thus  affected  is 
great,  the  possible  ill  being  obviously  equal  to  that  of 
the  possible  good. 

In  most  offices,  especially  in  the  country  and  smaller 
cities,  it  is  important  to  consider  the  influence  which 
the  employees  may  exert  in  bringing  business  to  or 
diverting  it  from  the  printery.  It  counts  for  much  in 
an  employer's  favor  when  all  his  workmen  desire  to 
throw  work  into  his  hands,  and  each,  in  his  circle  of 
acquaintance,  is  always  ready  to  speak  a  good  word 
where  he   thinks    it    may    bring    work    to    the    office. 


208  MANAGEMENT   OF   EMPLOYEES. 

This  is  the  natural  way,  the  way  in  which  things 
should  work  in  an  office  where  the  treatment  of  the 
employees  has  been  of  a  judicious  kind.  In  larger 
establishments,  also,  the  influence  of  the  employee  in 
getting  work  is  not  to  be  neglected,  for  although  the 
results  may  not  be  so  readily  discernible,  yet  the 
influence  counts  often  in  unexpected  quarters.  An 
office  rightly  run  is  entitled  to  all  the  business  which 
its  humblest  employee  may  control,  as  well  as  that  of 
the  most  high-salaried  solicitor  or   influential    manager. 

A  policy  of  conciliation  and  forbearance  in  all  cases 
of  trade  disputes,  differences  as  to  wages,  hours,  etc.,  is 
too  obviously  advisable  to  call  for  special  recommenda- 
tion; but  far  better  than  this  is  it  to  see  that  there  is 
no  occasion  for  dispute,  that  no  question  of  a  kind 
likely  to  cause  trouble  is  allowed  to  go  so  far  that 
lines  will  be  distinctly  drawn  upon  it  between  the 
workmen  and  the  management.  In  foreseeing  and  pre- 
venting possible  disputes,  and  in  being  so  secure  in 
the  good  will  of  the  men  that  nothing  of  the  kind  can 
suddenly  arise,  lies  a  large  part  of  the  best  kind  of 
success  in  the  management  of  the  employees,  for  the 
good  of  all  concerned. 

Undoubtedly,  a  general  policy  of  arbitration  between 
proprietors  and  workmen  would  settle  labor  difficulties 
without  serious  friction.  It  is  not  always  possible  to 
arbitrate  a  question.  In  what  is  called  the  sympathetic 
strike  there  is  often  no  issue  at  all  between  the  men 
of  a  particular  office  and  their  employer.  But  as  a  general 
thing,  it  is  possible  by  the  exercise  of  diplomacy  to 
avoid  a  disastrous  strike.  When  good  workmen  ask 
for  a  reasonable  concession,  they  ought  to  have  it  granted 
them;   when   they   demand   something  they   want,  but 


MANAGEMENT   OF    EMPLOYEES.  209 

which  conditions  will  not  afford,  the  situation  should 
be  fully  explained  to  them,  so  that  by  reasonable  and 
dispassionate  discussion  they  may  see  that  they  are  asking 
too  much;  when  the  demands  are  unreasonable,  or 
involve  a  principle  that  an  employer  cannot  allow  to 
take  root,  such  as  that  of  dictation  as  to  who  shall  be 
his  customers,  then  the  only  good  policy  is  to  firmly 
resist  to  the  end.  But  never  invite  a  strike  until  diplo- 
macy is  exhausted;  never  be  the  aggressor  in  straining 
relations  with  your  men.  A  strike  or  lockout  is  war„ 
and  should  never  be  accepted  but  as  a  last  resort,  for 
it  dooms  profits  for  a  considerable  period  in  the  most 
successful  establishments. 

When  a  strike  is  actually  in  existence,  then  is  the 
time  that  an  employer  can  profit  by  the  good  treat- 
ment of  men  in  time  past,  many  of  whom  will  stand 
in  with  the  house  that  has  used  them  well,  rather 
than  join  with  those  who  seek  to  coerce  it.  The 
master  printer  should  never  allow  himself  to  desert 
the  men  who  stand  with  him  in  a  strike.  No  later 
pressure  from  trades  unions  should  ever  cause  him  to 
forget  the  men  who  incurred  the  distrust  of  their  fellows 
to  cast  their  lot  with  him.  1  remember  once  seeing  in 
a  large  Philadelphia  office  a  consumptive  old  fellow 
doing  about  half  a  day's  work  in  ten  hours.  Some 
one  remarked  that  he  was  getting  $19  a  week,  $3 
more  than  the  scale.  He  was  once  worth  that  tlgure, 
and  he  had  stuck  by  the  firm  when  a  b:;d  strike  was 
on,  and  they  kept  up  his  pay  when  he  ran  down  hill, 
and  sent  his  family  $100  when  he  died.  Some  would 
call  this  charity,  but  it  was  also  good  management  in 
a  large  office,  for  it  assured  an  indemnity  from  future 
strikes. 


210  MANAGEMENT   OF    EMPLOYEES. 

In  the  treatment  of  employees  the  "  Golden  Rule"  is  a 
good  thing  to  follow  both  from  an  ethical  and  a  business 
standpoint.  Men  are  not  machines;  it  is  essential  in 
some  respects  to  conduct  an  office  as  if  they  were 
machines,  for  one  must  have  mechanical  system  and 
regularity  to  produce  results.  But  it  is  wrong  to  forget 
that  workmen  are  human,  that  they  have  the  same  right 
to  the  good  things  of  this  world  as  the  employer,  and 
that  upon  their  sympathy  and  good  will  a  large  part  of 
the  success  of  an  establishment  must  always  depend. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE   employee's   OPPORTUNITY. 

There  are  plenty  of  opportunities  for  advancement 
in  the  job  printing  business,  because  real  ability  is  hard 
to  find.  True  merit  and  capacity  are  sure  to  be  recog- 
nized sooner  or  later,  and  application  and  intelligent 
endeavor  will  insure  permanent  positions  at  good 
wages,  and  advancement  wherever  practicable. 

The  young  man  at  the  case  or  the  feedboard  who 
wants  to  rise  to  the  top  of  his  trade  must  engage  in 
a  great  deal  of  self-education.  He  must  know  more 
than  the  mere  trade  of  typesticking  or  making-ready; 
he  must  learn  more  than  those  about  him — yes,,  than 
those  above  him — if  he  would  climb.  Too  few  recog- 
nize their  own  lack  of  general  education,  and  only  by 
appreciating  their  personal  deficiencies  can  they  rise  to 
a  higher  grade  of  knowledge. 

A  thorough  knowledge  of  spelling,  punctuation  and 
grammar  is  essential  to  the  making  of  good  compos- 
itors, and  most  of  them  become  fair  spellers,  middling 
punctuators  and  indifferent  grammarians.  If  you  are  a 
young  printer,  resolye  that  you  will  know  all  there  is 
to  know  about  these  subjects.  Become  a  good  speller, 
not  only  of  common  words,  but  broaden  your  vocabu- 
lary by  studying  the  latest  dictionary.  Learn  all  the  ins 
and  outs  of  punctuation  and  capitalization  from  the 
same  source,  or  by  purchasing  and  studying  the  latest 
books   on    these    topics.     Study    grammar,  first    as  the 


2  12  THE    EMPLOYEES   OPPORTUNITY. 

schoolboy  studies  it,  and  then  as  the  writer  does,  learn- 
ing the  niceties  of  grammatical  expression,  and  the 
nature  of  popular  blunders.  These  last  are  technically 
known  as  faulty  diction,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  good 
printers  to  correct  these  when  observed  in  the  copy  of 
their  patrons.  It  is  an  intimate  knowledge  of  these 
things  that  fits  a  compositor,  when  the  opportunity 
comes,  for  taking  a  place  at  the  proof-reader's  desk, 
'and  rising  to  the  top  of  that  branch  of  the  printer's  craft. 
The  study  of  the  branches  mentioned  is  not  wasted 
even  if  the  compositor  never  takes  up  regular  reading 
of  proofs.  Men  with  such  knowledge  are  most  useful 
in  medium  sized  ofifices,  where  a  compositor  may  be 
required  to  divide  up  his  time  in  several  ways.  Think 
of  the  great  number  of  such  offices  that  have  not  busi- 
ness enough  to  employ  a  man  wholly  as  proof-reader. 
It  is  in  these  particularly  that  the  opportunity  exists  for 
the  advancement  of  the  compositor  who  is  educated  to 
the  correct  use  of  English.  The  man  of  all-around 
knowledge  is  of  increased  value  to  the  small  plant. 
Unfortunately  there  are  few  college  graduates  in  the 
printing  business,  as  beginners  generally  are  brought  in 
at  about  the  age  of  fifteen  and  receive  no  more  regular 
schooling  after  that  time.  In  many  printeries  the  col- 
lege man  is  sneezed  at  as  an  impractical  upstart  with 
a  little  knowledge  of  Greek  and  Latin,  perhaps,  but  ot 
not  much  account  for  every-day  work.  If  the  college 
man  could  know  the  practical  side  of  the  trade,  or  if 
the  practical  printer  could  be  brought  to  si  better  reali- 
zation of  the  value  of  the  liberal  education  of  the 
college  graduate,  and  emulate  his  learning,  then  there 
might  be  developed  more  educated  printers  who  would 
be  truly  fitted  to  some  modern  honor  comparable  with 


THE    employee's   OPPORTUNITY.  2  I  3. 

the  wearing  of  swords,  the  dignity  said  to    have   been 
conferred  up6n  some  early  members  of  the  craft. 

Knowledge  is  power;  knowledge  will  get  money, 
and  money  will  ^et' almost  anything.  Equip  yourself 
with  knowledge,  young  printer,  and  you  will  get  along 
in  this  business.  It  is  not  only  book  knowledge  that 
is  referred  to,  but  every  sort  of  knowledge  bearing  on 
the  trade.  The  job  compositor  who  has  cultivated  his 
artistic  taste,  and  spends  no  more  time  in  setting  up 
attractive  work  than  others  do  in  setting  commonplace 
work,  is  more  valuable  than  the  one  who  has  no  taste, 
or  having  it,  occupies  so  much  time  in  securing  good 
typographical  effects  as  to  leave  his  employer  no  profit. 
If  the  compositor  can  also  be  relied  upon  for  typographic 
correctness,  saving  the  time  and  oversight  of  the  proof- 
reader, he  is  even  more  valuable.  If,  besides  the  above, 
he  can  profitably  superintend  the  work  of  others  he  is 
still  more  valuable.  The  man  who  works  with  his  hands 
only,  no  matter  how  hard  he  works,  is  largely  a  tool, 
and  is  not  as  important  or  valuable  as  the  man  who  can 
use  his  brains,  or  the  one  who  uses  hands  and  brains. 

Never  be  afraid  of  knowing  too  much  or  of  displac- 
ing those  above  you.  There  is  plenty  of  room  at  the 
top  of  the  printing  business  for  more  educated  activity. 
The  good  apprentice  is  the  first  boy  to  be  put  on 
display  work;  the  compositor  with  the  clean  proof  is 
the  first  to  be  called  to  the  reader's  desk;  the  apt 
feeder  is  the  one  who  is  put  in  charge  of  the  press 
when  the  pressman  is  sick  or  incapacitated;  the  work- 
men who  manifest  all-around  ability  are  the  ones  who 
are  chosen  for  promotion  to  positions  as  foremen  and 
superintendents.  The  employee  who  hustles  will 
almost  invariably  find  the  opportunity  by    the   time   he 


214  THE   EMPLOYEES   OPPORTUNITY. 

is  ready  for  it.  When  he  does  not,  and  it  becomes 
apparent  that  circumstances  will  prevent  his  advance- 
ment where  he  is,  he  had  better  look  for  a  chance  to 
get  in  elsewhere  into  a  position  in  the  line  of  promotion. 

If  an  office  is  given  over  to  toadyism,  and  you 
cannot  rise  except  by  sacrificing  your  self-respect,  look 
out  for  another  place.  You  may  be  sure  that  there  are 
plenty  of  proprietors  who  know  just  what  their  men 
do,  and  who  will  reward  good  service;  and  plenty  of 
foremen  who  will  like  you,  rather  than  be  jealous  of 
you  if  you  do  honest  work.  But  do  not  expect  pro- 
motion until  it  is  earned.  When  you  take  a  new 
position  you  must  prove  your  value  patiently  before 
you  can  expect  to  be  advanced.  If  the  firm  for  which 
you  work  is  a  successful  one,  and  its  members  fair 
people,  be  satisfied  to  work  and  wait,  and  in  due  time 
the  opportunities  will  come  for  you  to  show  that  you 
are  worth  more  money  or  an  advanced  position,  and 
you  will  be  recognized  and  rewarded. 

Probably  every  good  printer  who  advances  to  a 
position  as  foreman  desires  at  times  to  take  another 
step  forward,  and  embark  as  a  [proprietor.  This  is  a 
move  that  requires  the  utmost  care  and  consideration, 
it  is  comparable  to  a  step  in  the  dark,  leading  one 
knows  not  whither.  Those  who  are  moved  to  go  into 
business  are  counseled  to  ponder  well  the  opening 
chapters  of  this  book.  They  must  also  remember  that 
nine  out  of  ten  v/ho  go  into  business  fail,  largely 
through  lack  of  consideration  of  all  the  conditions,  In 
leaving  a  good  position  as  foreman,  with  a  stated 
salary  and  a  sure  thing,  to  take  up  with  the  uncertain- 
ties of  business  in  a  small  way,  the  printer  must 
expect  first,  to    have  to   live    on  a  reduced    income   for 


THE   EMPLOYEES   OPPORTUNITY.  21  ^ 

some  years,  as  he  will  have  to  put  everything  into  the 
business  to  make  it  go.  Then  he  must  bear  in  mind 
that  he  will  have  to  give  credit,  and  that  he  will  get 
little  credit  himself  at  the  start,  so  that  in  six  months, 
even  in  a  very  small  business,  he  will  find  that  $500 
is  constantly  being  owed  him — $500  that  h3  can  never 
collect  up — and  which  amount  grows  larger  and  larger 
as  his  business  increases,  representing  the  money  that 
is  coming  from  those  who  owe  him.  As  fast  as  these 
debtors  pay  up — or  as  most  of  them  pay — new  credits 
are  demanded;  and  so  he  goes  on,  lending  money  to 
his  customers  when  he  needs  it  so  badly  himself,  be- 
cause under  the  circumstances  there  is  nothing  else  that 
he  can  do.  Neither  the  beginner  in  business  nor  the 
old  house  can  escape  this  condition;  yet  the  beginner 
seldom  considers  it  until  he  gets  into  the  scrape.  Then 
he  finds  himself  always  short  of  funds,  scrambling  to 
meet  notes,  to  pay  for  additions  to  his  plant,  or  for 
sorts,  or  loans,  or  something,  and  his  family  have 
to  live  short,  take  store  orders,  and  scrape  along 
somehow  until  some  day  when  he  either  fails  alto- 
gether— which  is  the  usual  thing — or  by  dint  of  careful 
management  and  good  sense,  pulls  the  business  through, 
he  knows  not  just  how,  and  begins  to  find  that  he  is 
making  enough  to  draw  a  salary  as  good  as  he  pays 
his  foreman.  When  this  stage  is  reached,  there  is  a 
good  chance  of  permanent  success,  if  the  printer  does  not 
get  inflated  ideas,  and  try  to  do  a  big  business  all  at  once. 
The  employee,  who  thinks  about  starting  in  the 
printing  business  for  himself  is  cautioned  to  consider 
well  the  cost,  and  to  disabuse  his  mind  of  the  idea 
that  he  can  do  work  for  less  than  those  now  engaged 
in    the    business    and    make     money.      This    idea,    so 


2l6  THE  employee's' OPPORTUNITY. 

prevalent  among  "employees,  springs  from  a  lack  of 
information  as  to  the  numerous  small  costs  that  attach 
to  a  job  of  printing.  The  employee  naturally  thinks  that 
the  principal  cost  is  his  wages,  as  that  is  the  amount 
that  he  sees  and  knows.  If  he  is  getting  twenty-five  or 
thirty  cents  an  hour,  and  his  employer  sells  his  time  for 
sixty  cents,  he  thinks  the  employer  has  a  very  soft  thing, 
sitting  in  an  office  and  raking  in  as  much  pay  as  all 
the  hands  put  together.  Little  he  knows  that  the 
other  costs  are  even  greater  than  the  wage  costs,  and 
that  for  every  hour  of  the  compositor's  time  that  the 
proprietor  sells  at  sixty  cents  he  has  to  furnish  at  least  an 
hour  of  some  other  person's  time — it  may  be  an  hour 
made  up  of  a  fraction  of  the  foreman's,  the  errand  boy's,  a 
distributer's,  a  proof-reader's,  a  type-founder's,  a  land- 
lord's, a  mortgage  holder's,  or  any  of  a  dozen  others — 
but  it  will  always  average  at  least  another  hour  in 
value  of  somebody's  time  that  must  be  paid  for  in  some 
way,  and  that  eats  up  as  much  or  more  money  than  the 
direct  wages  for  which  he  can  charge  the  customer. 

It  is  in  underestimating  this  cost  of  production  that 
the  employee  who  thinks  of  starting  out  for  himself 
comrhonly  makes  his  first  great  mistake;  he  does  not 
realize  what  all  these  things  cost,  and  so  he  exagger- 
ates the  possible  profits  in  the  business.  The  only 
safe  way  to  judge  of  the  prospects  of  success  in 
starting  a  new  printing  office,  lies  in  not  guessing 
at  anything.  When  you  have  saved  a  little  money 
and  want  to  go  into  business,  try  first  and  secure  a 
minor  partnership  with  your  employer,  making  a 
contract  that  will  allow  you  to  withdraw  again  at  the 
end  of  a  year  if  dissatisfied.  He  or  some  other  estab- 
lished printer  may  let   you  in,  and  thus   give    you   the 


THE   employee's   OPPORTUNITY.  217 

chance  to  learn  something  of  business  management, 
and  the  exact  cost  of  doing  work. 

Do  not  make  the  mistake  of  thinking  that  because 
you  have  been  a  foreman  that  you  are  a  business  man 
— that  you  can  take  hold  of  and  manage  a  small  plant 
entirely  and  make  money,  when  you  are  without  any 
special  knowledge  of  business  methods.  These  have 
to  be  learned,  just  as  composition  and  presswork  have 
to  be  acquired,  and  if  you  go  in  blindly,  you  will  make 
as  big  a  blunder  of  the  whole  business  as  would  a 
plow-boy,  who  came  green  into  a  printing  office,  and 
essayed  to  take  charge  without  serving  an  apprentice- 
ship. Everything  in  the  business  world  has  to  be 
learned;  such  knowledge  can  be  picked  up  only  by 
patient  study  and  observation.  Let  the  employee  who 
has  an  itching  to  go  into  business  take  a  year  or  two 
first  to  study  the  methods  of  successful  printers,  and 
in  reading  the  trade  papers,  and  in  getting  at  the  cost 
of  work.  If  he  does  this  faithfully,  the  chances  are 
that  in  most  cases  after  two  years  of  investigation  he 
will  say  to  himself:  ''What  a  lucky  thing  that  I  did 
not  start  in  when  1  wanted  to.  1  can  see  now  that  I 
was  so  green  that  1  should  have  lost  every  dollar. 
Perhaps  I  have  a  good  deal  yet  to  learn;  1  guess  that 
I  will  wait  another  year." 

Thus  by  learning  the  road  first,  and  traveling  it 
cautiously,  may  the  active  and  intelligent  employee 
hope  to  raise  himself  from  the  most  humble  position  to 
one  commanding  the  best  salary,  and  finally  place  himself 
where  he  can  embark  with  reasonable  safety  on  the  sea 
of  business  for  himself,  realizing  the  American  ideal  of 
independence,  which  in  this  case  may  be  defined  as 
owning  one's  own  business  and  owing  nobody. 


CHAPTER  XXllI. 

DANGER   IN    SIDE   VENTURES. 

The  printer  who  has  built  up  a  successful  little 
business  is  pretty  sure  to  be  solicited  at  times  to  engage 
in  side  ventures,  or  his  own  energy  will  often  suggest 
to  him  the  propriety  of  embarking  in  some  kindred 
trade.  Perhaps  he  will  be  sorely  tempted  at  times  to 
engage  in  some  of  these  ventures,  and  therefore  it  seems 
proper  to  throw  out  a  few  hints  that  may  be  of  assistance 
to  the  printer  in  making  a  decision  in  such  cases. 

As  a  general  rule  it  is  a  safe  proposition  in  business 
that  one's  energies  should  be  confined  to  one  line  of 
work,  refusing  all  allurements  to  sidetrack  one's  interest 
in  the  main  business  to  which  one  must  look  for  sus- 
tenance and  an  income.  Those  men  who  have  made 
marked  successes  are  usually  great  developers  of  trade; 
they  give  their  best  brains  to  the  enlargement  and 
increase  of  their  original  business  and  to  the  swelling  of 
the  legitimate  profits.  All  the  large  printeries  of  the 
country  were  once  small  printing  offices;  that  they  have 
been  developed  to  their  present  capacities  shows  the  room 
there  may  be  for  development  by  others.  Somewhere  in 
this  land  to-day,  are  a  hundred  small  printers  who  will 
have  large  printing  establishments  before  another  quarter 
of  a  century  has  rolled  away,  because  of  their  superior 
push,  intelligent   hustle,  and  ability  to  stick  to  the  one 


DANGER    IN   SIDE    VENTURES.  219 

thing  and  make  the  most  of  it.  No  man  ever  achieved 
great  business  success  by  pushing  a  hundred  schemes 
and  ventures  at  the  same  time.  There  is  a  Hmit  to  all 
ability,  and  he  who  draws  his  thoughts,  his  time  or  his 
money  away  from  his  printery  must  expect  that  printery 
to  suffer,  to  stand  still,  or  at  least  be  retarded  from 
growing  as  it  would  grow  if  it  had  the  benefit  of  all  his 
best  ideas  and  of  his  personal  supervision. 

A  man  cannot  hope  to  be  a  successful  printer  and  at 
the  same  time  run  a  grocery,  carry  on  an  express  business, 
hold  office,  engage  in  stock  companies,  and  give  his  time 
to  this,  that,  and  the  other  thing.  Too  many  irons  in  the 
fire  have  burned  because  of  distracted  attention.  If  you 
have  decided  to  make  printing  a  business,  and  have  half 
a  show  in  making  it  go,  stick  to  your  print  shop  and 
build  it  up,  and  let  side  issues  alone  until  you  have  done 
so  well  that  you  have  surplus  money  and  surplus  time 
to  invest.  As  surely  as  you  go  into  other  things  you 
will  neglect  your  printing  office,  and  perhaps  reduce  or 
cut  off  an  income  on  which  you  could  otherwise  depend 
absolutely,  for  a  speculation  that  may  bear  nothing  but 
Dead  Sea  fruit. 

Of  course  there  are  times  when  a  man  does  well  to 
abandon  printing  and  go  into  some  other  business,  but 
with  such  cases  this  book  has  nothing  to  do.  If  a  man 
has  a  printing  office  and  is  making  it  pay  or  can  make 
it  pay,  it  is  his  business  as  a  printer  to  push  that  business 
in  preference  to  everything  else.  If  he  listens  to  allure- 
ments to  go  into  any  foreign  line  he  must  look  largely  to 
that  line  for  returns,  for  he  must  expect  the  printery  to 
suffer.  When  the  printer  has  an  almost  irresistible  desire 
to  go  into  some  side  venture,  the  wise  thing  is  always 
to  wait;   and  when   his   printing  trade  is   more   solidly 


220  DANGER    !N   SIDE    VENTURES. 

established,  when  he  is  free  from  debt,  and  has  the  cash 
to  put  into  something  else,  then  if  he  still  has  the  desire 
to  try  the  side  line,  and  can  turn  over  a  portion  of  the 
care  of  his  business  to  other  hands  with  safety,  arid 
without  losing  the  reins,  then  perhaps  he  may  gratify 
his  wish  to  try  the  other  business,  for  if  he  sinks  all 
he  puts  into  it,  he  is  not  ruined,  and  still  has  the 
printing  business  for  support.  But  it  is  little  less  than 
suicidal  for  a  man  who  has  a  printing  office 'half 
paid  for  to  take  receipts  that  ought  to  go  to  reducing 
his  mortgages,  and  invest  them  in  outside  scherriesl 
Such  a  policy  persisted  in  rarely  fails  to  bring  entire 
ruin.  ' 

There  are  many  kindred  lines  of  trade,  however, 
that  tend  to  build  up  a  printing  office,  such  as  bindings 
publishing,  journalism,  electrotyping,  etc.  It  is  often 
the  case  that  some  of  these  may  be  taken  up  with 
increased  profit  to  the  printery,  and  with  great  chances 
of  success,  because  one  branch  of  the  business  feeds 
the  other. 

Perhaps  the  publication  of  a  newspaper  or  periodical 
is  the  sort  of  business  most  frequently  offered  or  sug- 
gested to  the  printer  as  a  side  venture,  and  many  times 
such  publications  are  started  and  become  the  mainstay 
of  a  printing  office,  bringing  it  directly  or  indirectly  the 
most  of  its  work.  Yet  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
nineteen  out  of  every  twenty  publications  fail  to  pay  a 
profit,  and  cease  to  be  issued,  and  that  the  printers  who 
take  an  ownership  in  any  of  the  nineteen  may  be 
greater  losers  than  if  they  had  been  simply  hired 
printers  to  do  the  work,  with  no  interest  in  the  profits 
that  never  came.  It  is  only  in  the  twentieth  case  that 
the  publication  lives  and  pays,  and  it  is  a  very  shrewd 


DANGER   IN   SIDE   VENTURES.  221 

printer  who  can  determine  in  advance  which  publi- 
cation of  the  score  is  going  to  tally  a  success. 

Extra  caution  should  be  exercised  before  making 
any  investment  or  taking  any  chances  in  the  publishing 
line.  If  a  printer  has  also  a  practical  training  on  the 
business  side  of  a  newspaper,  trade  paper,  etc.,  under- 
standing how  to  make  such  a  publication  pay,  he  may 
often  run  one  advantageously  in  connection  with  his 
printing  office.  But  for  a  printer  who  is  only  a  printer, 
and  who  knows  nothing  of  journalism,  to  plunge  into 
a  newspaper  venture  simply  because  he  has  the  type 
and  presses  to  get  it  out,  is  almost  sure  to  be  an 
unwise  undertaking.  Newspaper  publishing  is  a  busi- 
ness not  learned  in  a  week  or  a  month,  or  a  year,  and 
to  experiment  in  it  is  to  invite  the  loss  of  money.  If 
you  have  a  printery  and  do  not  know  the  newspaper 
business,  better  stay  out  of  it,  or  if  reasons  present 
themselves  that  seem  to  force  you  to  go  in,  at  least  get 
a  partner,  or  interest  a  trained  journalist  who  knows 
what  he  is  about,  that  you  may  have  a  chance  of 
getting  returns  for  the  money  and  time  you  put  into  it. 

If  you  do  go  into  a  newspaper  or  publication  of 
any  sort,  keep  separate  accounts  for  the  different  parts 
of  the  business;  otherwise  you  may  err  in  your  judg- 
ment as  to  where  profits  come  from.  You  may  be 
sinking  the  ^profits  of  the  printery  in  the  publication 
without  realizing  it,  if  you  do  not  keep  the  figures 
before  you;  or  you  may  make  a  go  of  the  publication 
and  be  carrying  on  the  printing  office  as  a  dead  load. 
Do  not  allow  accounts  to  get  so  mixed  that  you  can 
deceive  yourself  in  such  matters. 

A  bindery  is  a  common  adjunct  of  a  printery,  and 
often  it  may  be  well   to    add    one   to   the  plant  if   the 


-222  DANGER   IN   SIDE   VENTURES. 

printery  has  work  enough  to  keep  one  going,  and  a 
competent  man  can  be  found  to  run  it.  But  binding 
and  ruling  is  a  close  competitive  business,  like  job 
printing,  and  unless  such  a  branch  is  run  intelligently, 
it  will  not  pay.  If  you  do  not  understand  much  of  the 
business,  and  if  you  have  to  depend  much  on  the  work 
of  other  printers  to  make  it  pay,  better  stay  out.  It 
is  wiser  to  pay  ten  per  cent,  more  than  cost  to  some 
reputable  binder  to  handle  your  work,  and  have  it 
done  rightly,  than  it  is  to  do  it  yourself,  and  divert  time 
from  the  printing  office,  when  that  time  is  needed  there. 
The  same  is  broadly  true  of  electrotyping.  A 
printing  office  having  enough  work  to  keep  a  foundry 
going  may  do  well  with  one,  but  as  it  requires  a  very 
large  printing  plant  to  support  a  foundry  this  is  an 
exceptional  case.  The  printer  in  a  large  city,  having  a 
moderate  business,  who  considers  the  starting  of  a 
foundry  to  supply  other  printers,  must  bear  in  mind 
that  his  competitors  in  printing  are  not  likely  to  prefer 
to  send  their  work  where  he  can  inspect  it  and  know 
what  they  are  doing.  They  will  prefer  to  patronize 
some  other  foundry.  In  a  moderate  sized  city,  where 
no  independent  electrotype  foundry  exists,  it  ic  fre- 
quently a  good  investment  for  the  largest  printing 
office  to  establish  a  small  foundry,  and  do  its  own 
work,  thus  avoiding  the  delays  of  sending  forms  t:> 
another  city.  Such  a  foundry  may  reasonably  be 
expected  to  obtain  the  patronage  of  printers  in  the 
same  city,  because  of  the  nearness  and  convenience, 
and  such  work  may  be  profitable  by  filling  in  the  time 
of  the  men.  In  the  course  of  time,  however,  such  a 
foundry,  if  located  in  a  growing  city,  must  expect  to 
lose  its  outside  trade    to   some   well-managed   foundry, 


DANGER   IN   SIDE   VENTURES.  22} 

that  will  be  established  independent  of  any  printing 
office.  For  these  reasons  electrotyping,  though,  a  good 
business  in  itself,  is  commonly  a  poor  business  for  the 
printer  to  engage  in. 

Many  printers  find  politics  inviting,  because  of  the 
large  amount  of  printing  to  be  given  out  by  town, 
city,  and  state  governments.  They  sometimes  seek 
office  in  order  to  control  such  work,  and  as  the  prices 
paid  are  apt  to  be  much  above  ordinary  commercial 
values,  the  bait  is  often  very  tempting.  But  those  who 
have  been  through  the  political  mill  know  that  in  the 
end  it  usually  costs  as  much  or  more  to  get  a  political 
pull  as  it  is  worth.  Men  go  into  politics  for  business 
profits,  as  they  go  into  trade.  The  printer  who  goes 
in  ordinarily  finds  that  the  demands  made  on  his  time 
and  pocket-book  offset  the  extra  price  obtained  for 
the  work  he  gets,  and  the  methods  that  have  to  be 
resorted  to  are  only  too  apt  to  destroy  his  sense  of  probity 
and  honorable  dealing.  In  small  towns,  where  there 
are  but  two  or  three  printers,  it  is  often,  nay  usually, 
wise  for  a  printer  to  take  enough  interest  in  the 
success  of  his  political  party  to  secure  their  work,  but 
aside  from  this  the  wise  rule  for  the  average  printer  is 
to  let  politics  severely  alone. 

As  for  investing  in  stock  companies  or  the  like, 
when  the  wily  promoter  comes  along  and  seeks  this 
method  of  getting  printing  without  paying  the  cash,  there 
is  but  one  safe  rule — keep  out  of  them.  If  you  must 
invest  outside  the  printery  put  your  money  into  things 
that  you  can  control  and  understand.  No  stock 
company  controlled  by  strangers  is  going  to  give  up 
to  you  large  profits  when  they  are  made — which  they 
ordinarily    are    not.      The    best    of   them,    when    they 


224  DANGER   IN   SIDE   VENTURES. 

succeed,  will  only  let  you  have  six  per  cent,  on  your 
investment,  and  eat  up  the  rest  in  salaries  or  emolu- 
ments to  the  originators  and  larger  holders  of  the 
company's  stock.  The  printer  should  be  equally  shy  of 
all  new  things  in  which  he  is  asked  to  invest,  either 
in  cash  or  by  giving  printing.  As  a  rule  they  will  not 
pay,  and  the  printer  is  only  asked  to  go  in  to  give 
some  one  else  a  chance  to  make  money,  himself  taking 
only  chances  of  getting  back  a  portion  of  his  investment. 
Such  things  are  all  gambles,  with  the  odds  against  you. 
When  a  printer  really  has  arrived  at  that  happy  stage 
when  his  business  is  so  prosperous  as  to  require  no 
further  investment,  and  his  earnings  seek  some  other 
outlet,  he  has  commonly  acquired  such  a  knowledge  of 
the  world  and  of  business  methods  as  not  to  require 
any  advice  from  the  author  of  this  book.  Such  a  man 
is  not  easily  led  into  schemes  and  unprofitable  ventures. 
Yet  even  such  must  keep  an  eye  on  themselves,  and 
see  to  it  that  their  caution  does  not  wane  because  of 
continued  money-making.  There  are  more  than  a  few 
who  make  mistakes  after  amassing  wealth,  and  demon- 
strate that  it  is  as  much  of  an  art  to  keep  money  as  to 
make  it.  Let  the  printer  whose  cash  seeks  outside 
investment  look  for  those  things  which  yield  small  but 
safe  returns.  Think  not  of  the  amount  of  the  interest, 
but  of  the  safety  of  the  principal.  There  are  members 
of  our  craft  who  become  large  holders  of  real  estate, 
and  in  established  business  properties.  These  do  not 
speculate;  they  take  hold  of  only  sure  things.  If  such 
a  one  were  approached  for  advice  by  younger  printers 
whose  businesses  are  but  half  built  up,  with  queries  as 
to  the  advisability  of  going  into  some  side  venture,  I 
am  sure  that  the   advice  would  almost  always  be — don't. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

SYSTEMATIC  SAVING. 

The  object  of  doing  business  is  to  make  money; 
that  object  is  largely  defeated  if  a  portion  of  the  money 
made  is  not  saved,  giving  the  earner  an  accumulation  for 
emergencies  and  for  old  age.  The  man  who  makes 
money  and  spends  it  as  fast  as  it  comes  in  has  little  more 
reputation  among  his  fellows  than  the  man  who  cannot 
earn  any  money  above  a  bare  subsistence;  he  is  not  a 
force  to  be  counted  on  in  the  commercial  world;  he  can- 
not take  hold  of  and  move  any  large  enterprises  as  can 
the  man  who  accumulates  and  thus  possesses  reserve 
power.  1  do  not  know  that  printers  are  any  more  apt 
to  neglect  saving  than  those  in  other  trades,  for  as  a  rule 
the  world  is  improvident;  where  one  saves  there  are 
always  ten  to  spend.  This  chapter  may  therefore  apply 
quite  as  well  to  men  in  any  other  business,  yet  I  hope 
that  all  printers  who  read  this  book  will  consider  this 
chapter  quite  as  important  as  any  other  that  may  deal 
more  directly  or  more  closely  with  the  printing  interests.. 
The  proverb  has  it  that  "you  cannot  have  your  cake 
and  eat  it,  too;"  which  one  may  interpret  for  the  present 
case  as  meaning  that  the  printer  who  spends  all  that  he 
earns  secures  no  benefits  for  the  future,  only  those  of  the 
present.  The  object  of  going  into  business  is  often  largely 
that  a  man  may  have  something  that  will  earn  him  411 


226  SYSTEMATIC  SAVING. 

income  when  he  is  sick,  or  on  a  vacation,  or  old  and 
partially  incapacitated.  Whether  a  man's  business  brings 
him  in  $20  or  $200  a  w^eek,  it  is  his  duty  in  seeking 
the  highest  good  for  himself  and  his  family,  to  save  for 
the  future.  It  is  always  possible  for  the  man  who  earns 
$20  weekly  to  lay  by  $2 ;  and  the  man  who  earns  $200 
a  week  may  lay  by  $100.  But  the  amount  to  be  saved 
is  of  less  importance  than  is  the  fixing  of  a  habit  of 
saving  systematically.  The  man  who  has  a  rule  for 
saving,  who  obliges  himself  to  save  a  certain  percentage 
of  his  earnings,  whether  in  good  times  or  bad,  will  sooner 
or  later  attain  a  competency;  while  the  man  who  saves 
spasmodically  can  never  be  very  sure  what  he  will  accu- 
mulate. 

It  is  a  matter  of  common  observation  that  few 
persons  can  save  much  unless  they  do  it  systematically, 
engaging  in  some  way  to  lay  by  so  much  regularly, 
instead  of  economizing  haphazard  as  they  feel  like 
doing.  For  a  systematic  means  of  forcing  one's  self  to 
suitable  saving,  I  know  of  nothing  better  than  the 
building  association  or  life  insurance.  Each  involves 
regular  stipulated  payments,  which  must  be  met,  or  a 
slight  loss  follows,  and  this  stimulates  the  individual 
to  keep  up  the  saving,  so  that  in  time  it  becomes  a 
habit. 

The  building  association  almost  universally  pays  at 
least  six  per  cent,  interest,  and  forms  a  convenient 
means  for  an  investor  to  lay  by  a  stated  sum  every 
month,  that  may  accumulate  without  his  feeling  it 
materially.  When  the  sum  invested  amounts  to  a  few 
hundred  dollars  or  more,  and  the  printer  has  use  for 
some  money  temporarily  in  his  business,  as  for  the 
purpose  ot  obtaining  a   considerable  discount,   he  can 


SYSTEMATIC  SAVING.  22^ 

use  the  investment  as  security  for  borrov^ing  very 
nearly  its  face  value.  This  is  done  in  various  ways, 
some  building  associations  making  temporary  loans  to 
their  members,  in  other  cases  local  banks  advancing  on 
three  months'  notes  with  the  building  association  stock 
as  collateral.  But,  whatever  the  special  plan  of  any 
building  association,  it  is  a  recognized  portion  of  the 
value  of  the  investment  that  it  allows  the  investor  to 
use  the  money  at  intervals  when  he  sees  an  advantage 
therein;  and  this  is  specially  valuable  to  the  printer, 
who  is  often  buying  considerable  quantities  of  paper, 
or  a  new  press,  or  a  composing-machine,  or  an  outfit 
of  type,  and  who  can  save  ten  to  fifteen  per  cent, 
thereon  by  buying  for  spot  cash.  It  is  also  a  very 
material  advantage  that  the  payments  are  required 
monthly,  thus  in  a  manner  enforcing  the  regular  saving 
of  a  certain  amount.  I  know  of  no  class  of  business 
to  which  the  building  association  plans  seem  to  appeal 
more  strongly  than  to  the  printers  running  small  or 
medium  sized  offices. 

Similar  arguments  apply  to  investment  in  life  in- 
surance. Every  careful  man  with  a  family  provides  for 
the  future  of  his  little  ones,  and  the  insurance  policy 
affords  a  way  of  making  a  larger  provision  than  can  be 
done  otherwise  in  a  short  time.  The  modern  plans  of 
policies  are  so  favorable,  that  after  a  few  payments  a 
loss  is  not  possible,  and  in  time,  policies  have  borrow- 
ing value  also,  like  the  building  association  stock. 

Let  us  suppose  that  the  average  printer  in  business 
could  afford  to  save  only  $5  a  week,  and  that  he  puts 
$2  of  this  in  insurance  and  $3  in  a  building  association. 
If  he  is  young  the  insurance  money  will  pay  for  a  $5,000 
policy,  which  is  enough  to  make  him  feel  that  his  family 


i28  SYSTEMATIC   SAVING. 

Svould  not  suffer  seriously  should  he  die  prematurely^ 
The  $3  a  week  invested  in  the  building  association  will 
have  a  borrowing  value  of  $500  in  three  years,  and  in 
ten  years  will  amount  to  $2,500.  If  the  printer  has 
managed  his  affairs  in  the  printing  office  wisely  during 
that  period,  so  as  to  add  a  few  thousands  to  the  value 
of  his  plant  and  increase  his  income,  he  can  then  begin 
to  feel  that  he  has  made  a  success,  and  can  take  life 
more  easily,  knowing  that  his  future  is  secure. 

Another  reason  why  the  master  printer  should  invest 
at  least  a  portion  of  his  savings  outside  of  the  printing 
business  is  founded  on  the  policy  of  not  placing  all  one's 
eggs  in  one  basket.  Accidents  will  happen  in  the  best 
managed  printeries,  and  if  some  chance  that  cannot  be 
foreseen  wipes  out  the  printery  and  the  labor  of  years, 
there  is  then  the  outside  investment  to  fall  back  upon. 
The  failure  of  a  large  and  trusted  customer,  a  flood,  or 
a  riot,  or  some  similar  disaster  against  which  insurance 
is  impossible,  have  wrecked  printing  offices  before  now, 
and  will  again.  Man  is  helpless  when  Fate  intervenes, 
and  he  can  only  exercise  a  wise  precaution  in  all  his 
business  affairs.  One  of  these  wise  precautions  certainly 
lies  in  a  regular  investment  of  savings  outside  of  the 
printing  office,  and  I  consider  that  the  printer  who  fails 
to  do  this  is  making  as  much  of  a  mistake  as  the  printer 
who  fails  to  insure  his  property. 

There  will  be  many  printers  in  business  who  will 
dissent  from  the  idea  of  investing  outside  of  the 
printery,  saying  that  they  prefer  to  build  up  their 
offices,  and  put  back  into  the  business  everything  they 
save.  This  sounds  well,  and  I  admit  that  the  policy  is 
carried  out  satisfactorily  by  many  printers;  yet,  I  feel 
'Confident    that   the   importance    of   outside  ■  investment 


SYSTEMATIC   SAVING.  22(^ 

should  always  be  considered  by  every  printer  who 
saves.  Once  well  started  it  permits  the  raising  of  cash, 
and  consequent  discounting  of  bills,  in  a  way  that  can 
not  be  done  if  the  money  is  in  printing  machinery. 
No  bank  cares  to  loan  money  on  machinery;  it  is 
regarded  as  most  unsatisfactory  security,  and  rightly, 
because  its  value  falls  fifty  to  seventy-five  per  cent,  as 
soon  as  the  owner  has  no  use  for  it.  Then,  again,  the 
printer  who  thinks  he  is  saving  by  investing  in  new 
machinery  for  his  plant  is  liable  to  delude  himself. 
How  often  has  some  such  colloquy  as  this  been  heard 
among  proprietors  of  the  smaller  printing  offices: 

y4 — "  I  made  $2,000  last  year  above  my  living." 
^^'* That's  good;  where  is  the  money.?" 
A — ^**0h,   in  the  business.     I  have  $300  more 
of  book    accounts    than    last    year,    and  bought 
$1,700  of  new  machinery." 

How  very  possible  it  is  in  such  a  case  that  the 
$300  increase  in  accounts  will  always  be  dead  on  the 
books,  and  that  the  $1,700  of  new  machinery  was 
needed  to  keep  the  plant  up  to  its  former  standard,  so 
that  there  has  been  no  real  saving.  If  A  had  put 
money  in  the  building  association  he  would  know 
certainly  that  it  was  saved. 

If  there  are  savings,  it  is  often  the  case  that  new 
machinery  for  the  printery  is  not  really  needed,  so  that 
it  is  unwise  to  reinvest  the  money.  There  are  printers 
who  buy  new  type  and  new  machines  principally 
because  they  like  to  see  them  come  in.  Every  true 
printer  in  business  takes  a  lively  pleasure  in  seeing  new 
material  added  to  his  plant;  but  this  is  a  feeling  to  be 
guarded  against  rather  than  encouraged,  for  the  object 
of   doing   business  is  to   make   money,  not    to  gather 


230  SYSTEMATIC  SAVING. 

together  a  great  collection  of  tools  and  machines.  Let 
the  printer  therefore  always  be  careful  about  enlarging 
his  plant,  remembering  that  there  are  other  investments 
which  may  prove  more  profitable,  and  that  it  is  best  to 
consider  these  carefully  before  deciding  on  an  increased 
capacity  of  his  establishment. 

The  plan  of  investing  savings  in  new  machinery  or 
type  is  sometimes  a  disastrous  one,  in  that  a  printer  finds 
himself  with  too  large  a  plant  for  the  business  that  natur- 
ally comes  to  him,  and  so  is  led  to  go  into  the  field  of 
others  and  cut  prices  in  order  to  get  more  work.  This 
sort  of  investment  of  saving  is  as  wasteful  in  its  results 
as  spending  the  money  in  racing  and  riotous  living. 
Machinery  should  be  bought  only  when'it  is  imperative — 
when  large  permanent  orders  will  be  lost  if  it  is  not 
purchased.  For  further  and  fuller  suggestions  along  this 
line  see  the  chapter  on  "Buying." 

The  printer  who  would  be  successful  in  business  has 
to  consider  yet  another  side  of  the  question  of  savings. 
Thus  far  I  *have  written  only  of  what  the  printer  might 
or  should  do  with  his  savings  from  his  earnings  or  profits 
in  the  business.  In  order  to  have  such  savings  in  pocket 
he  must  practice  a  wise  economy  in  all  things,  and  save 
all  unnecessary  expenditures.  I  do  not  mean  to  counsel 
a  niggardly  course  or  extreme  penuriousness,  for  I  be- 
lieve that  these  are  as  close  to  financial  suicide  as  over- 
liberality.  A  man  must  avoid  the  reputation  of  being 
mean,  at  the  same  time  that  he  must  manage  to  save 
wherever  he  reasonably  can,  and  to  stop  unnecessary 
outgo.  This  is  gone  into  at  length  in  the  chapter  entitled 
"Leakages."  It  is  manifestly  a  bad  plan  to  try  to  save 
money  by  cutting  down  wages  of  employees,  who  are 
thereby  put  out  of  sympathy  with  the  office;  it  is  also 


SYSTEMATIC  SAVING.  2}l 

bad  to  purchase  only  cheap  grades  of  paper  and  ink,  or 
to  gratify  a  miserly  taste  for  low  rents  and  cheap  sur- 
roundings to  the  damage  of  the  reputation  of  a  business. 
The  true  way  to  save  is  to  see  that  you  get  what  you 
pay  for;  that  every  employee  gives  you  the  full  number 
of  hours;  that  every  press  is  run  at  the  best  speed  of 
which  it  is  capable  without  damage;  that  you  do  not 
pay  for  useless  and  unnecessary  small  articles,  much  less 
large  ones.  It  is  a  real  saving  to  discount  a  bill  for  new 
type,  when  it  would  be  no  saving  to  buy  some  second- 
hand type  at  a  less  price;  it  is  a  real  saving  to  spend 
enough  money  on  bookkeeping  to  know  just  where 
every  cent  of  your  money  goes,  and  to  study  the  figures 
occasionally  and  learn  whether  there  are  not  some  useless 
expenditures. 

No  man  can  get  very  far  ahead  in  the  world  who 
does  not  cultivate  the  habit  of  saving.  No  income  will 
stand  continued  extravagance;  every  man  who  has 
earned  a  fortune  has  learned  the  lesson  of  wise  economy. 
There  are  few  wealthy  men  in  the  printing  business, 
the  cause  being  more  due  to  undercharging  than  a  lack 
of  saving;  yet  there  are  many  who  would  prosper  if 
they  gave  as  much  attention  to  economies  as  they  do 
to  figuring  down  the  price  of  work.  One  thing  is 
certain,  that  the  printer  who  saves  regularly  and  system- 
atically will  never  be  sold  out  by  the  sheriff  as  long  as  he 
adheres  to  the  policy  of  laying  by  a  part  of  every 
dollar  that  he  makes. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

PARTNERSHIPS. 

An  entire  book  might  be  written  concerning  partner- 
ships, without  exhausting  the  subject,  leaving  yet  many 
last  words  to  be  said  on  many  phases  of  the  question; 
in  fact,  there  are  books  treating  the  matter  at  great 
length  from  a  legal  standpoint.  The  conditions  of 
trade  are  such  that  partners  are  frequently  essential  to 
carrying  on  a  business.  In  other  words,  I  may  say 
that  partnerships  are  a  necessary  evil,  for  in  the 
abstract,  a  partnership  is  a  thing  to  be  avoided.  A 
man  should  own  and  control  his  own  business,  and 
have  his  own  way,  if  he  would  get  the  full  satisfaction 
of  doing  business,  and  reap  the  entire  reward  of  what 
genius  he  may  possess.  The  writer's  advice  to  all 
printers  is  that  wherever  possible  the  best  way  is  tO: 
*'go  it  alone"  and  avoid  partnerships;  because  this  is 
not  always  possible,  this  chapter  is  written.  ■ 

A  partnership  should  not  be  entered  into  without' 
extreme  care  and  positive  evidence  that  it  is  necessary- 
to  the  conduct  of  the  printery.  Making  a  partnership: 
is  like  getting  married — it  is  for  better  or  worse,  and^ 
it  is  very  difficult  to  know  which  until  it  has  been  tried 
for  a  few  years,  and  if  it  proves  for  the  worse  it  is  hard 
to  get  out.  It  is  a  foolish  plan  to  take  a  partner,  as 
many  young  printers  do,  solely  for  company,  to  have 
an   associate  with  whom   they   can  talk  over  business 


PARTNERSHIPS.;  2}} 

matters.  Partners  should  be  taken  because  more  brains, 
more  superior  oversight  of  the  kind  that  cannot  be  hired, 
is  required  for  the  proper  conduct  of  the  printing  office, 
or  because  the  money  brought  into  the  business  by  the 
partnership  is  absolutely  needed  for  its  profitable  con- 
tinuance. 

The  chief  difficulty  with  a  profitable  partnership  arises 
from  the  fact  that  when  two  or  more  men  become  owners 
in  a  business  there  are  then  two  or  more  separate  and 
distinct  interests  in  control,  and  what  may  be  to  the 
interest  of  one  may  not  always  be  to  the  interest  of 
another.  Human  nature  is  selfish,  and  each  partner  is  apt 
to  want  his  own  way,  and  one  will  want  more  leisure 
than  another,  or  one  will  want  to  make  expenditures  that 
another  considers  foolish,  and  so  on;  the  possibilities  for 
dissension  being  in  existence  all  the  time.  Only  a  wise 
forbearance  on  the  part  of  all,  and  a  sincere  effort  to 
subordinate  one's  own  desires  to  the  good  of  the  whole 
business  can  make  a  partnership  an  entire  success. 

In  considering  the  acceptance  of  a  partner,  first 
figure  on  the  value  that  his  money  will  be  to  the 
business,  and  determine  whether  it  will  certainly  enable 
you  to  make  a  larger  profit  from  the  half  or  other 
fraction  you  retain,  than  you  would  make  from  the 
whole  if  you  had  it  by  yourself.  If  you  feel  assured 
that  the  money  is  positively  needed,  and  that  your 
remaining  portion  of  the  business  will  yield  a  larger 
increase  for.  the  investment,  then  study  to  see  whether 
you  cannot  get  the  money  in  some  way  without  the 
man,  and  whether  this  would  not  be  the  most  profit- 
able arrangement  for  you. 

The  character  of  the  person  taken  as  a  partner  is 
of  even   greater   importance    than   the   money   he   may 


234  PARTNERSHIPS. 

bring  to  a  business.  If  he  is  not  honest,  he  is  dear 
at  any  price;  if  he  has  cranky  notions,  he  may  prove  a 
perpetual  thorn  in  the  side;  if  he  be  lazy,  he  may  not 
earn  his  share  of  the  profits;  if  he  is  careless  or  reckless, 
he  may  ruin  the  concern;  if  he  is  incapable,  he  may 
prove  a  heavy  drag  on  the  business;  if  he  lacks  intelli- 
gence or  business  capacity,  even  though  willing,  he 
may  in  time  become  an  intolerable  nuisance.  A  partner 
should  be  a  man  who  can  be  relied  upon  to  manage 
some  branch  of  the  business  without  being  told  how, 
one  who  can  relieve-  others  of  a  portion  of  the  cares  of 
oversight,  and  who  is  capable  of  making  his  depart- 
ment profitable.  A  good  printer  and  inside  manager 
may  find  a  good  partner  in  one  who  is  a  natural 
salesman,  and  who  has  the  capacity  for  taking  orders 
at  good  prices.  If  each  is  good  in  his  sphere,  the  two 
may  do  better  together  than  they  could  do  apart;  in 
fact,  they  may  sometimes  be  really  indispensable  to  each 
other.  But  where  there  are  two  partners,  both  natu- 
rally inside  men,  or  both  naturally  outside  men,  there  is 
no  good  combination.  The  firm  of  inside  men  will  be 
apt  to  do  good  work,  and  not  much  of  it,  with  little 
profit;  and  the  firm  of  outside  men  will  be  apt  to  pile 
up  a  large  number  of  orders,  and  do  cheap  and  unsatis- 
factory work.  There  are  many  partnerships  that  fail 
though  both  men  are  really  capable  and  pushing,  because 
they  happen  to  be  wholly  unsuited  and  unsatisfactory 
to  each  other,  and  continually  interfere  with  and  upset 
each  other's  plans.  Many  of  us  have  seen  printing  firms 
composed  of  partners  and  doing  a  trifling,  petty  business, 
but  who  on  separating  and  going  into  competition  have 
each  prospered  and  made  money  that  they  never  could 
make  when  together. 


PARTNERSHIPS.  2}^ 

When  a  partnership  has  been  fully  decided  upon  as 
the  most  advisable  thing,  the  next  thought  of  those 
interested  should  be  to  put  the  terms  in  writing  so 
plainly  that  there  can  be  no  room  for  differences  later. 
Everything  that  is  expected  of  a  partner  should  go  down 
in  black  and  white,  and  if  possible  a  penalty  should  be 
attached  for  neglect  of  duty.  A  way  should  also  be 
provided  for  closing  or  winding  up  the  partnership,  or 
withdrawing  from  it  without  involving  later  dispute. 
The  more  completely  these  things  are  gone  into  on  paper 
the  less  likelihood  there  is  of  future  differences  and 
disagreements.  Do  not  be  afraid  in  drawing  up  partner- 
ship papers  that  you  will  hurt  anybody's  feelings  by 
specifying  everything  that  you  expect  of  your  partner; 
get  in  everything,  and  tell  him  to  get  in  everything  that 
he  expects  of  you.  When  you  have  all  the  points  down, 
go  to  a  good  lawyer,  one  whom  you  are  sure  that  you 
could  trust,  and  get  him  to  put  them  in  legal  shape,  and 
when  the  papers  are  signed  you  will  be  as  safe  as  written 
agreements  can  make  you.  Do  not  think  because  you 
know  a  man  well  that  you  can  omit  the  formality  of 
drawmg  up  partnership  papers,  or  that  the  merest 
skeleton  of  papers  will  do.  The  writer  has  known  of 
two  partnership  cases,  m  both  of  which  the  men  were 
hard  workers  and  intelligent,  yet,  who  lost  every  dollar 
they  put  in  certain  businesses,  because  they  carelessly 
assumed  that  there  was  no  need  of  partnership  papers. 
The  printer  who  is  wise  will  not  take  any  chances,  but 
profit  from  the  experience  of  others,  and  so  avoid  the 
almost  entire  losses  that  come  when  there  are.  partnership 
suits  and  receiverships  growing  purely  out  of  disagree- 
ments and  misunderstandings. 

A  man  who  has  not  been  in  a  partnership,  or  who 


236  PARTNERSHIPS. 

has  never  come  in  close  contact  with  a  partnership 
dispute,  can  have  little  appreciation  of  the  way  in  which 
partners  in  business  are  tied  to  each  other's  acts  by  the 
law.  One  partner  becomes  virtually  responsible  for  the 
acts  of  the  others.  If  one  runs  off  with  or  squanders 
the  partnership  property  in  the  most  thievish  manner  the 
sufferer  has  no  remedy  through  criminal  prosecution. 
One  partner  can  do  anything  he  likes  with  any  and  all 
property  connected  with  the  business,  and  the  only 
remedy  of  the  other  is  a  civil  suit  at  law,  which  never 
brings  any  saving  or  satisfaction.  No  matter  how  large 
or  profitable  a  business  may  be,  if  the  partners  get  into 
a  desperate  quarrel  and  invoke  the  law,  the  entire  assets 
are  almost  sure  to  be  frittered  away  and  dissipated, 
affording  only  pickings  for  lawyers  and  court  officials. 
The  printer  who  gets  into  a  serious  quarrel  with  a  partner 
is  advised  by  all  means  to  settle  it  in  some  manner,  no 
matter  how  much  he  has  to  give  way,  rather  than  to 
call  upon  the  courts  to  settle  the  dispute.  There  is  no 
money  in  lawsuits,  except  for  the  legal  fraternity.  When 
a  difference  between  partners  become  so  grievous  as  to 
threaten  the  business,  and  the  terms  of  a  dissolution 
cannot  be  mutually  agreed  upon,  it  is  a  wise  way  for 
each  to  put  all  his  affairs  in  the  hands  of  a  trusted  friend, 
assigning  full  powers  to  the  same.  The  two  friends  so 
named  can  then  choose  an  arbitrator,  and  the  three; 
together  can  arrange  a  settlement,  to  the  acceptance  of 
which  the  two  partners  should  be  absolutely  bound  in 
advance.  In  this  way  a  reasonably  fair  adjustment  of 
difficulties  and  a  dissolution  can  be  made,  without, 
wrecking  the  business,  which  both  have  an  interest  in. 
seeing  preserved. 

A  small  printing   office    does    not    need    more   than 


PARTNERSHIPS.  237 

one  head,  while  a  large  printery  often  demands  a 
number  of  executives,  because  there  are  more  im- 
portant things  to  be  decided  upon  than  one  man  can 
attend  to.  It  has  sometimes  been  thought  wise  by  men 
having  a  prosperous  and  growing  business,  to  interest 
the  most  efficient  of  their  help  as  minor  partners,  and 
qualify  them  to  take  executive  charge  of  certain  por- 
tions of  the  work.  The  best  way  to  do  this  is  usually 
through  the  organization  of  a  stock  company,  which  is 
a  flexible  sort  of  partnership,  permitting  ownership  of 
small  portions  of  a  business,  and  the  retaining  of  the 
control  by  the  larger  owner  or  owners.  Personal  liability 
can  be  avoided,  this  being  one  of  the  serious  dangers 
in  a  simple  partnership.  The  incorporated  company 
form  of  organization  allows  a  business  to  continue  after 
the  death  of  the  principal  owner  without  being  tangled 
up  by  executors,  contested  wills,  etc.  Every  large  print- 
ing concern,  in  which  more  than  one  man  is  interested, 
should  take  advice  on  the  matter  of  incorporation,  which 
is  now  universally  recognized  as  the  safest  way  of 
carrying  on  trade  where  many  interests  are  involved.  In 
a  company,  the  principal  proprietor  may  retain  his 
majority  of  the  stock,  and  take  in  capable  men  to  run 
the  departments,  allowing  them  such  minority  holdings  as 
they  are  able  to  pay  for.  The  partners  so  taken  in  under 
a  proper  arrangement  would  have  to  earn  their  salaries 
afterward  just  as  much  as  before  taking  stock  in  the 
firm,  as  they  would  be  as  liable  to  discharge  if  in- 
efficient. No  contract  should  ever  be  made  with  a 
minor  stockholder  that  would  make  it  impossible  to 
dismiss  him  from  a  salaried  position  should  he  become 
unsatisfactory.  Sometimes  it  happens  that  a  man  who 
has  been  very  efficient  as  a  foreman  or  superintendent. 


238  PARTNERSHIPS. 

on  being  admitted  as  a  partner,  becomes  so  puffed  up 
with  importance,  getting  what  is  slangily  called  a 
"swelled  head,"  that  he  is  no  longer  valuable  to  the 
business.  There  are  instances  where  such  men  who 
have  been  advanced  for  faithful  services,  abandoned 
their  good  habits,  and  took  to  coming  down  late  in  the 
morning,  going  out  during  business  hours,  and  generally 
conducting  themselves  as  though  they  were  no  longer 
expected  to  work  and  earn  money  for  the  business. 
The  only  wise  thing  to  do  in  such  a  case  is  to  discharge 
the  rhan;  but  if  an  agreement  has  been  made  which 
prohibits  this,  the  firm  is  in  a  bad  fix,  with  an  un- 
profitable load  to  carry. 

I  recall  a  corporation  that  made  an  agreement  with 
a  most  valued  head  of  a  department  that  practically 
bound  them  to  pay  him  $75  a  week  during  the  life  of 
that  department.  Within  a  few  years  the  man's  atti- 
tude toward  the  firm  was  wholly  changed,  and  he 
became  a  general  nuisance,  coarsely  throwing  it  in  the 
face  of  the  principal  owners  that  he  was  there  to  do 
as  he  pleased  and  draw  his  I75.  Eventually  the  firm 
sold  a  very  large  and  prosperous  portion  of  their 
business,  much  below  its  real  value,  for  the  purpose  of 
getting  rid  of  the  man  whom  they  had  placed  in 
charge  of  that  department.  Such  an  experience  was  a 
most  costly  lesson,  even  for  a  large  money-making 
concern,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  owners  never 
again  took  a  minor  partner  in  a  way  that  made  it 
impossible  to  discharge  him  if  his  services  did  not 
continue  to  be  profitable. 

Of  course  when  a  head  of  a  department  in  a 
printery  is  asked  to  take  stock,  and  invest  his  money 
with   the   concern,   virtually  becoming  a  small   partner, 


PARTNERSHIPS.  239 

he  has  a  right  to  demand  that  his  salary  be  guaranteed 
to  him,  and  his  position  made  permanent,  but  a  clause 
should  always  be  inserted  in  the  agreement  permitting 
the  company  to  repurchase  his  stock  and  put  him  out, 
if  for  any  reason  such  a  course  is  desirable. 

Whether  the  men  interested  in  a  printing  office  are 
partners  in  the  ordinary  sense,  or  whether  they  are 
simply  stockholders  and  officers  of  a  company,  there 
should  be  a  definite  understanding  between  them  as  to 
what  portion  of  the  business  each  is  to  take  in  charge. 
The  supervision  should  be  divided  up  according  to  the 
capacity  and  tastes  of  the  several  members  of  the  firm, 
and  while  all  should  consult  together  on  important 
matters,  yet  each  one  should  be  allowed  to  run  his 
own  department  largely  in  his  own  way,  without 
interference,  which  breeds  hard  feelings  and  upsets  the 
friendly  relations  which  are  so  valuable  in  a  business 
partnership.  If  each  firm  member  has  charge  of 
a  distinct  branch  of  the  business,  and  monthly  reports 
are  made  to  all  the  members  of  the  progress  of 
each  department,  then  each  man  is  put  upon  his 
mettle  to  make  a  good  showing,  and  the  one  who 
falls  behind  will  feel  that  he  has  to  keep  up  the 
profits  of  his  department,  if  he  is  to  continue  to  share 
in  the  profits  earned  by  the  other  more  prosperous 
departments. 

Regular  conference  between  the  members  of  a  firm 
or  company  is  a  valuable  factor  of  success.  It  prevents 
large  blunders  and  insures  the  taking  of  the  wisest 
course  that  united  wisdom  can  suggest.  A  business 
that  is  not  progressive  is  pretty  sure  to  be  retrogressive, 
and  when  the  members  get  together  regularly  and 
exchange    views,    plans    for   increasing  trade  are  more 


240  PARTNERSHIPS. 

readily  developed  and  executed,  thus  keeping  the  con- 
cern in  the  van  of  business  progress.  ,       . 

Printers  who  engage  in  business  in  the  ordinary 
partnership  way  should  remember  that  it  is  necessary  to 
exercise  mutual  forbearance  in  order  to  work  together 
harmoniously.  They  cannot  always  think  alike,  and 
each  may  honestly  believe  that  he  is  the  brains  of  the 
business,  whereas  the  chances  are  that  both  contribute 
materially  to  produce  what  success  is  attained,  though 
the  methods  of  each  may  be  widely  different.  There 
are  men  who  work  together  as  harmoniously  as  the 
parts  of  a  clock,  year  after  year,  with  a  perfect  under- 
standing as  to  what  each  expects  of  the  other,  and 
to  mutual  satisfaction;  but  this  would  be  impossible  if 
one  was  always  watching  the  other,  and  finding  fault 
when  little  things  went  wrong.  Everybody  makes 
errors,  and  things  will  not  always  run  smoothly  under 
the  best  management,  though-  it  may  be  very  easy  to 
point  out  afterwards  how  mistakes  might  have  been 
prevented.  Human  hindsight  is  much  better  than 
human  foresight,  and  a  man  cannot  always  be  sure 
that  he  is  doing  the  best  thing  until  it  has  been  done 
and  the  results  are  apparent.  Partners  must  remember, 
that  all  are  fallible  and  make  the  same  excuses  for  each 
other  that  they  would  make  for  themselves,  when 
results  are  not  quite  what  they  had  hoped. 

If  you  have  a  good,  honest,  careful,  practical  partner, 
who  will  carry  his  share  of  the  business  load,  you  are 
in  luck,  and  should  be  very  careful  not  to  separate  from 
him,  unless  positive  that  it  is  for  the  better.  While  I 
am  in  general  opposed  to  partnerships,  it  is  because  of 
the  frailty  and  uncertainty  of  human  nature,  and  not 
because  a   partnership  may  not   be  an.  excellent  thing. 


PARTNERSHIPS.  24 1 

where  that  rare  combination  is  found  of  two  or  more 
men  working  as  one  intelligent  machine,  and  securing 
the  benefit  of  the  best  points  in  each,  and  the  corrective 
judgment  of  ail,  in  combination.  Such  partnerships  are 
almost  certain  money-makers,  and  it  is  too  bad  that 
they  never  can  last  more  than  a  few  years,  for,  in  the 
very  nature  of  things  in  this  transitory  world,  partners 
drop  out,  and  the  old  combination  of  unity  is  apt  to 
be  lost. 

To  sum  up  the  whole  matter  of  partnership  in  a 
few  words,  I  would  say,  avoid  them  when  you  can; 
give  the  preference  to  a  corporate  company  when  you 
must  ally  yourself  with  others  in  business;  if  in  the 
partnership  lottery  you  secure  one  who  is  a  jewel  and 
a  money-maker  cling  to  him;  and  never  forget  that 
partnership  agreements  should  be  of  the  most  positive 
character,  providing  a  way  to  get  out  of  the  partner- 
ship, if  later  it  prove  undesirable. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

LEAKAGES. 

No  printing  business  can  be  made  to  pay  a  good 
profit  unless  a  careful  watch  is  kept  to  prevent  leak- 
ages and  loss  in  conducting  the  details  of  the  work. 
Five  or  even  ten  per  cent,  of  margin  may  disappear 
with  no  apparent  reason,  where  there  is  no  vigilant  eye 
or  exact  system  for  maintaining  economical  production. 
It  is  astonishing  how  the  little  drawbacks  to  profit 
will  creep  in  and  multiply  whenever  it  is  not  the  busi- 
ness of  some  one  to  watch  for  them  and  keep  things 
moving  advantageously.  Wasted  time  is  probably  one 
of  the  most  prolific  sources  of  loss  in  the  printery.  It 
may  occur  anywhere,  from  the  partner  who  loafs  and 
calculates  that  his  money  invested  is  enough  to  earn 
his  salary,  to  the  errand  boy  who  stops  around  the 
corner  to  play  marbles.  When  a  partner  will  not  earn 
his  salary,  the  other  partners  should  cut  down  his 
privilege  to  draw  on  the  funds  if  they  have  the  power, 
or  try  to  replace  him  with  a  live  worker  if  they  cannot 
reduce  his  pay,  otherwise  they  are  carrying  a  load  that 
may  be  disastrous  to  themselves.  If  a  foreman,  super- 
intendent, solicitor,  office  man,  or  other  one  employed 
in  a  superior  position,  wastes  his  time,  it  is  better  to 
replace  him  as  quickly  as  possible,  for  the  chances  are 
that  such  a  one  will  never  improve  without  a  severe 
lesson,    and  is  too  set  in  his  lazy   hallucinations   to   be 


LEAKAGES.  243 

reformed.  If  any  one  in  charge  of  a  department  or  the 
like  permits  the  waste  of  time  of  those  under  him,  and 
a  first  remonstrance  fails  to  remedy  the  evil,  he  also 
should  be  a  candidate  for  dismissal  or  reduction  to  the 
ranks. 

I  remember  a  foreman  in  a  large  composing-room 
who  was  very  efficient  generally,  and  who  would  push 
work  through  most  intelligently,  and  get  an  enormous 
amount  out  of  the  men  when  there  was  an  abundance  of 
work  in  the  office,  but  who  had  one  weakness  that 
made  him  a  failure  as  a  foreman.  He  could  not  bear 
to  lay  off  anybody  when  work  was  dull.  During  the 
rush  months  he  did  his  full  duty  by  the  house,  but 
during  the  dull  ones  he  would  keep  on  sometimes 
twice  the  force  that  was  essential  to  the  work  in  hand. 
The  inevitable  result  followed — the  concern,  which  was 
a  corporation,  in  a  few  years  spotted  the  leak,  and  put 
that  foreman  on  journeywork  in  another  department, 
replacing  him  by  a  man  who  recognized  that  his  busi- 
ness was  to  make  that  composing-room  pay,  and  that 
he  had  no  right  to  sacrifice  stockholders'  money  in 
charity. 

Waste  of  time  on  the  part  of  employees  in  subordi- 
nate positions  does  not  necessarily  call  for  discharge,  as 
it  is  more  apt  to  be  [the  result  of  inferior  supervision 
than  deliberate  laziness  on  the  part  of  the  men.  It  is 
in  the  nature  of  most  men  to  take  things  easily,  and 
it  is  the  business  of  those  above  them  to  see  that  they 
do  not  waste  their  time  through  wantonness,  or  what 
is  more  common,  some  ill-advised  method  of  work.  1 
have  seen  half  a  dozen  compositors  working  on  a  long 
job  of  tabular  matter,  and  one  of  the  lot  doing  twice 
as    much   as   the   average   man,    and    more   than   three 


244  LEAKAGES. 

times  as  much  as  some  others,  and  nobody  keeping- 
any  record  of  these  results.  It  should  have  been  the 
foreman's  care  to  have  the  fast  man  instruct  the  slow 
men  on  the  job  as  to  his  methods  of  handling  the 
tables  to  get  results;  if  they  could  not  grasp  them,  then 
he  should  have  shifted  his  men  and  put  in  others  on 
the  tables  who  knew  how  or  could  be  taught  how  to 
do  tabular  work  to  advantage. 

In  every  printing  plant  it  is  essential  that  some  one 
have  head  enough  to  look  after  leaks  of  this  sort,  and 
see  to  it  that  the  time  of  all  hands  is  advantageously 
employed.  Even  in  what  one  may  call  the  best  offices 
there  is  frequently  a  great  waste  of  time  in  the  various 
departments  through  some  fault  of  system  or  general 
oversight.  In  large  offices  superintendents  should  re- 
ceive daily  reports  embodying  full  details,  and  look 
them  over  regularly  for  evidence  of  leakages.  For 
further  pointers  as  to  avoiding  waste  of  time,  see  the 
chapter  on  "  Management  of  Employees. '^ 

The  item  of  spoilage  is  -one  that  is  often  overlooked 
and  for  which  no  provision  is  made  in  estimating.  It 
is  safe  to  say  that  no  printing  office  can  be  conducted 
without  some  loss  from  this  cause.  Where  this  loss  is 
minimized,  it  is  the  result  of  the  utmost  precautions, 
which  precautions  in  themselves  constitute  an  extra 
expense.-  There  is  a  multiplicity  of  causes  that  lead  to 
spoiling  a  piece  of  printing,  and  some  of  them  are  s,o 
small  that  it  is  a  wonder  that  they  do  not  occur  more 
frequently  than  they  do.  The  misspelling  of  a  word, 
the  dropping  out  of  a  letter,  a  mistake  in  punctuation 
that  changes  the  sense,  the'  shifting  of  a  guide,  acci- 
dental offsetting  caused  by  backing  up  too  soon  or 
from  piling  the  work  too  high,  smutting  from    careless 


LEAKAGES.  245 

handling,  uneven  color,  careless  feeding,  and  numerous 
other  errors  or  accidents  familiar  to  every  experienced 
printer,  are,  prolific  in  causing  spoiled  work. 

In  an  office  where  proofs  and  revises  are  passed 
upon  in  the  usual  way,  a  careless  pressman  may  reverse 
a  small  cut  that  he  has  taken  out  of  the  form  for  some 
purpose,  or  a  feeder  who  knows  nothing  of  type  may 
discover  a  few  letters  pulling  loose,  and  in  the  en- 
deavor to  make  them  tight,  remove  and  transpose 
them.  These  dangers  can  be  avoided  only  by  ordering 
a  revise  sent  to  the  proofreader  every  time  a  form  is 
touched.  Blunders  will  be  made  by  even  the  most 
careful  pressman.  An  electrotype-clamp  that  does  not 
hold  fast  properly,  may  work  loose  and  allow  a  plate 
to  slip  out  of  register,  so  thai  reams  of  paper  may  be 
marred  or  spoiled  before  the  slip  is  discovered  and 
remedied. 

Then  there  is  the  customer  who  claims  that  the 
instructions  were  not  as  the  printer  understood  them, 
and  who  refuses  to  accept  the  work  on  this  account. 
Any  of  these  losses,  while  sometfmes  appearing  in- 
significant at  the  time,  may  really  mean  the  loss  of  a 
good  customer,  and  in  the  aggregate  amount  to  a 
considerable  sum.  If  the  printer's  business  is  conducted 
on  a  close  margin — as  usually  it  is — this  will  naturally 
cut  into  his  profits.  An  allowance  of  two  per  cent, 
for  spoilage  is  not  any  too  much  in  the  job  printing 
business.  The  chances  are  that  it  can  be  kept  down 
to  this  figure  only  by  unceasing  care  and  watchfulness, 
and  the  rigid  enforcement  of  rules  for  verifying  correc- 
tions and  orders.  A  writer  in  a  newspaper  trade 
journal  has  aptly  said,  *'No  amount  of  cussing  will 
change  the   date  after   the  edition    is    worked  off,"  and 


246  LEAKAGES. 

this  may  be  paraphrased  by  the  jobber  to  suit  the  case 
of  the  error  found  in  a  job  on  or  after  delivery  to  the 
customer. 

The  only  practical  time  to  stop  spoilage  is  before  it 
occurs,  and  an  expense  of  about  one  per  cent,  of  extra 
vigilance  in  looking  for  blunders  before  the  final 
printing  is   a  good   insurance  against  this  form  of  loss. 

The  business  of  some  printers  is  damaged  by 
severe  leakage  through  the  machinery  they  use.  The 
exercise  of  due  care  and  forethought  in  the  handling  of 
machinery  is  essential  to  avoid  loss  through  breakdowns 
and  stoppages.  This  form  of  leakage  can  be  stopped 
only  by  preparing  in  advance  on  the  principle  that 
**a  stitch  in  time  saves  nine."  A  continued  squeak  or 
unnatural  jar  or  rattle  in  a  press  should  be  attended  to 
when  it  is  first  observed,  and  not  allowed  to  continue 
until  serious  damage  results.  Regular  examination  of 
the  machinery  and  overhauling  in  dull  seasons  avoids 
the  loss  incidental  to  stopping  during  periods  of  rush, 
as  is  more  fully  set  forth  in  the  chapter  on  "  The 
Pressroom."  A  waste  of  power  is  a  common  source 
of  loss,  through  inattention  to  the  shafting  and  belting, 
which  are  allowed  to  run  hard.  An  individual  motor 
electrical  equipment  avoids  this,  and  shuts  off  that 
chance  for  leakage. 

Waste  of  paper  or  card  stock  is  very  common  in 
the  printery,  and  is  often  disregarded  by  the  men  em- 
ployed through  the  idea  that  it  will  come  out  of  the 
customer,  and  therefore  will  not  be  noticed.  It  does 
not  pay  to  permit  such  a  notion  to  become  prevalent 
among  one's  employees.  If  they  are  allowed  to  give 
short  count  to  the  customer,  the  proprietor  will  have 
no  one  but  himself  to  blame  if  they  learn  to  give  short 


LEAKAGES.  247 

count  to  him.  The  only  right  way,  the  only  profit- 
able way,  is  to  insist  on  full  count  to  every  customer, 
and  allow  enough  paper  for  reasonable  waste  and 
spoilage.  This  should  be  accomplished  through  such  a 
system  of  counting  spoiled  sheets  as  will  show  who 
spoiled  them,  that  workmen  may  have  on  them  the 
check  of  knowing  that  carelessness  resulting  in  waste 
of  stock  will  be  known  to  the  employer. 

In  cases  where  stock  has  to  be  cut,  there  is  liable 
to  be  loss  through  miscalculation  as  to  the  best  way  to 
cut  to  get  the  greatest  number  out  of  a  sheet.  The  man 
who  operates  the  paper-cutter  should  have  a  clear  head 
for  figures,  that  there  may  be  no  undue  leakage  here. 
He  should  be  provided,  also,  with  computation  tables 
and  mechanical  helps  for  easy  calculation  of  how  many 
of  certain  sizes  may  be  got  out  of  a  ream  of  standard 
sizes,  thus  minimizing  such  dangers  as  the  cutting  up 
of  twice  the  required  quantity  of  stock.  It  is  necessary 
to  have  a  method  of  protection  from  the  error  of  cutting 
paper  to  size  when  a  form  is  to  be  run  double,  or  turn 
and  cut. 

In  every  printing  office  there  is  necessity  for  carrying 
more  or  less  paper  in  stock,  and  this  is  liable  to  depre- 
ciate through  dust  and  dirt,  if  it  is  not  kept  very  carefully 
■protected.  Only  by  wrapping  up  in  sealed  packages 
and  by  insisting  on  cleanliness  in  the  paper  stock  de- 
partment can  loss  be  avoided  through  the  dirtying  of 
paper  on  the  edges  or  on  the  outer  sheets  of  the  quires. 
There  must  always  be  more  or  less  loss  on  paper  by 
cording  of  bundles,  broken  outsides,  etc.,  also  by  hand- 
ling for  packing  after  printing.  Nothing  but  continual 
care  and  watchfulness  will  keep  down  the  loss  on  these 
details. 


248  LEAKAGES. 

In  some  special  methods  of  printing  more  than  ordi- 
nary waste  is  entailed,  and  must  be  allowed  for  in  the 
estimate  to  avoid  loss.  Suppose,  for  instance,  that 
one  plate  is  provided  from  which  to  print  three  checks 
on  a  sheet  for  a  check-book.  The  three  passages  through 
the  press,  and  threefold  chances  for  errors  in  register, 
smutting,  etc.,  will  increase  the  waste  materially.  A 
colored  rule  border  also  entails  a  lot  of  waste  that  the 
printer  is  apt  to  forget  to  figure  on,  if  he  is  not  specially 
familiar  with  such  presswork. 

A  common  cause  of  loss  in  inks  is  the  drying  up 
of  expensive  colors  that  are  allowed  to  stand  exposed 
for  a  long  time.  Waste  is  also  entailed  by  attempts  to 
mix  colored  inks  to  get  another  color,  when  the  mixer 
has  no  knowledge  of  the  components  of  the  two  or 
more  inks  employed.  The  result  may  be  a  mixture  of 
incompatible  substances,  and  the  production  of  a  com- 
pound that  will  not  work  on  the  rollers,  spoiling  the 
whole  lot.  It  is  better  to  trust  to  the  ink  man  for 
mixing  tints,  and  pay  him  for  his  experience,  than  to 
experiment  with  high-priced  inks. 

Another  source  of  leakage  is  through  neglect  to  buy 
closely,  and  to  take  advantage  of  all  cash  discounts.  This 
is  treated  of  fully  under  the  chapter  on  "  Buying.  " 
The  printer  who  fails  to  do  his  purchasing  carefully 
and  economically  leaves  himself  a  hard  road   to    profit. 

One  of  the  best  ways  to  stop  leaks  is  to  win  the 
interest  of  employees,  so  that  they  will  have  the  dis- 
position to  work  for  the  real  interests  of  the  house. 
Andrew  Carnegie,  the  multi-millionaire,  has  been  quoted 
as  saying,  ''that  no  man  can  acquire  wealth  without 
being  liberal,  and  giving  those  about  him  a  chance  to 
make  something."     He   had  over  thirty  partners,  all   so 


LEAKAGES. 


249 


devoted  to  the  interests  of  his  affairs,  that  he  said,  *'he 
would  rather  lose  every  dollar  of  his  capital  and  retain 
his  partners,  than  lose  his  partners  and  retain  his 
capital."  Get  the  men  who  work  with  you  to  feel  that 
they  have  an  interest  in  the  prosperity  of  the  plant, 
that  your  success  is  theirs,  and  you  will  have  so  many 
more  watchful  eyes  to  check  leaks  in  your  business, 
and  save  you  the  profit  that  has  been  earned. 

"  Little  drops  of  water,  little  grains  01  sand, 
Make  the  mighty  ocean  and  the  pleasant  land." 

So  little  leaks  unstopped  make  great  breaches  in  the 
walls  that  protect  the  profits  of  the  printer,  and  admit 
the  flood  that  may  sweep  away  the  whole  structure, 
producing  ruin  that,  though  inconsequential  to  the  trade 
at  large,  is  to  the  individual  concerned  the  swamping 
of  hope  in  tragedy.  He  who  allows  no  leakages  in 
his  business  is  a  tolerably  safe  man  to  bank  on  as 
likely  to  make  a  permanent  success  of  his  printery. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

KEEPING   UP   WITH  THE  TIMES. 

No  printer  can  hope  to  continue  in  profitable  busi- 
ness unless  he  advances  with  the  times.  It  matters 
not  how  honest  he  may  be,  how  good  the  work  he 
knows  how  to  do,  how  careful  he  may  be  not  to 
underestimate,  if  he  yet  lacks  progressive  qualities,  his 
establishment  will  some  time  arrive  at  the  point  of 
stagnation,  and  be  closed  up  for  lack  of  business.  The 
ways  that  lead  to  success  to-day  require  to  be  modified 
to-morrow,  and  only  by  keeping  an  eye  open  for 
development  is  it  possible  to  remain  in  the  van  of 
business  prosperity. 

Take  the  single  matter  of  printing  presses.  An 
office  may  be  well  stocked  with  good  cylinders,  but  if 
ten  or  twelve  years  roll  by,  and  no  additions  are  made 
to  the  pressroom  plant,  somebody  who  has  purchased 
later  and  faster  machinery  will  gradually  get  the  pay- 
ing work  from  the  establishment  that  has  stood  still. 
The  march  of  invention  is  ever  onward,  and  the 
printers  who  first  avail  themselves  of  improved  ma- 
chinery, steal  a  march  on  competitors,  while  those 
who  are  slowest  to  buy  are  placed  in  a  condition  of 
retrogradation. 

A  man  must  be  apt  to  recognize  when  a  change  is 
coming  over  trade   conditions,  and  to   avail  himself   of 


KEEPING   UP  WITH  THE  TIMES.  2^1 

the  natural  advantages  of  such  foresight.  Take  the 
matter  of  composing-machines,  those  offices  that  have 
been  most  enterprising,  and  made  their  purchases 
ahead  of  the  crowd,  secured  the  most  work,  not  only 
in  composition,  but  in  very  many  cases  in  presswork, 
too;  because  as  a  matter  of  convenience  the  presswork 
follows  the  composition  to  avoid  the  nuisance  of 
carting  forms,  and  to  enable  easy  corrections  on  the 
presses. 

All  of  us  have  seen  old  houses,  both  in  printing 
and  other  lines,  that  have  built  up  a  large  and  success- 
ful trade  in  one  generation  lose  it  in  the  next,  not  so 
much  from  wilful  waste  or  foolishness,  as  from  pure 
lack  of  ability  to  alter  methods  so  as  to  meet  new 
conditions.  Whenever  you  meet  a  man  who  is  per- 
fectly satisfied  with  his  business,  and  who  brags  that 
it  is  where  it  runs  itself,  look  out  for  a  failure  within 
a  dozen  years.  It  is  only  the  fellow  who  is  perpetually 
on  the  lookout  for  better  ways  and  better  means  who 
keeps  at  the  top  of  the  heap.  While  your  satisfied 
man  is  stroking  his  whiskers  in  his  complaicency,  there 
is  sure  to  be  some  clever  competitor  working  overtime 
to  develop  schemes  for  getting  ahead,  and  some  day 
he  will  find  a  way,  and  capture  the  trade  of  Mr. 
Complaicency  before  he  realizes  that  times  have  changed 
and  that  he  did  not  change  with   them. 

Take  a  lesson  from  your  employees.  Once  upon  a 
time  the  hand  compositor  was  fat  and  well  fed.  He 
did  not  care  much  whether  he  worked  to  suit  or  not, 
for  he  knew  that  he  would  not  have  to  ask  for  em- 
ployment at  more  than  two  printing  offices  without 
securing  it.  He  could  afford  to  be  independent,  and 
he    was.     When   he  saw   composing-machines    coming 


2^2  KEEPING   UP  WITH   THE   TIMES. 

he  regarded  them  with  a  curious  interest,  but  never 
reahzed  that  they  would  take  away  his  bread  and 
butter.  The  younger  and  more  progressive  compositors 
learned  the  keyboard,  and  the  more  conservative  type- 
setters were  allowed  to  go.  They  were  supposed  to 
get  in  elsewhere,  and  at  first  it  was  not  noticed  that 
there  existed  any  surplus  of  compositors.  As  the 
machines  proved  profitable,  however,  and  began  to  sell 
with  a  rush,  compositors  went  out  by  the  wholesale, 
many  of  them  never  to  earn  another  dollar  in  a  print- 
ing office.  Had  these  men  heeded  the  signs  of  the 
times,  and  learned  other  branches  of  the  trade,  or 
looked  up  something  to  fall  back  upon  when  the 
change  came,  their  livelihoods  would  not  have  been 
taken  away.  Just  so  with  the  employer  who  heeds 
not  the  gathering  clouds  that  indicate  coming  changes, 
that  are  likely  to  sweep  him  away  as  ruthlessly  as  the 
hand  compositor.  Master  printers  should  watch  for 
every  new  thing  in  machinery  or  methods,  or  cir- 
cumstances that  tends  to  effect  trade,  and  go  for  every 
advantageous  thing  that  shows  itself,  striving  to  be 
among  the  first  to  make  use  of  it. 

When  business  is  prosperous  and  the  presses  are 
humming  with  paying  work  and  all  is  serene,  do  not 
take  it  for  granted  that  things  will  always  go  that  way. 
Dull  times  will  come,  competition  will  grow  stronger. 
Your  best  men  are  liable  to  leave  you,  and  set  up  for 
themselves  when  they  see  you  making  money,  there- 
fore, do  not  try  to  pinch  their  pay  when  you  are 
prosperous.  Make  them  feel  that  your  success  is 
theirs  by  broad  liberality  in  dealing,  and  hold  them  to 
your  interests. 

Keep  your  eyes  open  for  new  processes,  and  investi- 


KEEPING   UP   WITH   THE  TIMES.  25^ 

gate  the  new  things  that  are  offered  to  the  trade.  Do 
not  be  afraid  of  wasting  time  on  the  salesmen  who 
approach  you  with  labor-saving  devices  and  machines. 
As  a  rule  they  would  not  be  there  unless  they  had  a 
good  thing  to  sell,  that  would  earn  money  or  save 
money  for  some  one.  You  can  never  be  sure  in 
advance  which  salesman  may  have  something  that  you 
need  to  push  your  trade  and  keep  you  ahead,  or  at 
least,  abreast  of  the  crowd.  Remember  that  a  printing 
business  is  but  one  form  of  buying  and  selling,  and 
that  you  should  give  as  careful  attention  to  the  buying 
as  the  selling  end.  Do  not  shut  yourself  up  and  be 
so  exclusive  that  a  salesman  cannot  get  at  you.  When 
you  have  a  large  plant  be  as  easy  of  approach  as  when 
you|had  a  small  one.  Sometimes  you  can  get  valuable 
tips  from  salesmen,  and  if  you  shut  yourself  off  from 
them,  so  that  they  can  only  get  at  you  second-hand, 
you  only  invite  them  to  bribe  your  employees  in  order 
to  get  their  goods  into  your  place.  Do  not  be  the 
means  of  making  such  conditions,  but  rather  invite 
everybody  about  you  to  be  honest,  by  keeping  tempta- 
tion out  of  the  way. 

Read  the  trade  papers,  the  advertisements,  and  even 
the  circulars  that  come  into  your  mail  as  much  as  you 
can.  These  are  all  helps  towards  keeping  up  with  the 
times.  Go  to  other  cities,  and  visit,  and  talk  with  the 
men  who  run  the  successful  printeries  there.  Most  of 
them  are  glad  of  the  opportunity  to  swap  experiences, 
and  tell  of  what  they  are  doing.  By  telling  them  of 
your  methods  of  pushing  business,  you  can  draw  them 
out  and  learn  their  ways,  and  often  profit  by  their 
experiences. 

While  the  endeavor  of  this  book  is  to  lay  down  in 


254  KEEPING    UP   WITH   THE  TIMES. 

a  general  way  the  principles  of  action  that  should 
govern  the  conducting  of  a  printery  so  that  a  profit 
may  be  reaped,  yet  it  must  be  recognized  that  this  can 
be  done  only  in  a  general  way,  and  that  unless  the 
reader  has  the  patience  and  intelligence  to  follow  and 
apply  the  rules  that  lead  to  success,  he  will  not  win 
the  prosperity  he  seeks.  The  underlying  principles  of 
success  are  probably  the  same  in  all  lines  of  business,  but 
the  application  of  them  is  different  in  the  various  avoca- 
tions and  in  the  individuals.  Some  men  win  business 
prosperity  by  methods  apparently  almost  opposite 
to  those  adopted  by  others  who  succeed  equally.  As 
a  rule,  those  men  who  have  a  grasp  of  large  things, 
and  who  view  business  problems  in  a  broad  way, 
make  the  most  money  in  the  long  run.  They  can  hire 
others  to  look  after  the  detail.  The  man  who  excels 
in  working  out  details  is  apt  to  lose  the  ability  to  look 
at  things  in  a  comprehensive  manner,  and  often  goes 
on  pottering  with  minutiae  when  some  large  thing  in 
his  business  demands  all  his  energies.  These  remarks 
are  intruded  here  to  suggest  to  the  mind  of  the  reader 
that  to  profit  by  this  book,  he  must  take  it  as  a  whole, 
and  not  undertake  to  guide  his  business  by  any  one 
portion  or  detail  of  its  lessons.  Just  because  things 
change  and  develop,  he  must  he  on  the  alert  to  keep 
pace  with  these  changes,  and  to  understand  that  while 
the  various  chapters  herein  contained  are  each  believed 
to  embody  sound  advice  from  the  point  of  view  in 
which  written,  yet,  that  the  march  of  time  may  lead  to 
larger  and  somewhat  different  conclusions  in  some 
matters,  and  that  he  must  keep  his  mind  open  to 
receive  more  and  newer  ideas  as  the  world  progresses 
and  the  industry  changes. 


KEEPING   UP  WITH  THE  TIMES.  255 

We  live  in  an  age  when  mechanical  and  inventive 
progress  has  begun  to  develop  so  fast  that  commercial 
conditions  are  made  to  change  with  a  rapidity  unknown 
in  earlier  periods.  It  appears  probable  that  changes  of 
this  sort  will  become  more  rapid  in  occurrence  as  time 
goes  on,  and  that  the  man  who  runs  a  printery  or  any 
other  business  will  have  to  make  his  money  out  of  it 
in  ten  years,  and  then  upset  the  whole  situation  and 
go  at  it  again  in  a  new  way,  with  a  new  plant,  if  he 
desires  to  make  more. 

We  have  no  assurance  that  printing  will  always  be 
done  from  type,  or  on  presses.  Already  we  see  many 
kinds  of  printing  or  reproductions  accomplished  in 
other  ways.  We  can  recognize  that  printing,  in  the 
broad  sense  of  reproducing  pictures  and  signs  that 
represent  language,  must  continue  to  exist  as  long  as 
human  intelligence  remains  as  we  know  it;  but  we 
have  no  assurance  that  the  methods  of  producing  it,  or 
of  advertising,  or  of  generally  conducting  business,  are 
permanent.  They  may  be  simply  an  evolution.  In 
these  days  evolutions  sometimes  transpire  with  amazing 
quickness.  The  wise  printer  will  be  ever  ready,  and 
when  he  sees  signs  of  a  change  of  methods,  will  be 
prepared  for  them. 

It  is  not  without  a  sense  of  regret  that  I  dip  my 
pen  in  the  ink  for  nearly  the  last  time  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  this  book.  The  task  has  been  a  congenial  one, 
and  as  it  has  led  me  through  the  various  details  of 
development>f  a  printery,  I  have  inwardly  sympathized 
with  the  beginners  who  had  to  toil  up  the  hill  of 
business  properity,  in  which  are  so  many  pitfalls,  for 
which  they  might  be  ill  prepared.  If  the  methods  and 
principles  which  helped  me  along  the  road — and  which 


356  KEEPING   UP  WITH   THE   TIMES. 

I  have  been  able  to  gather  as  helping  other  printers 
who  have  made  much  more  conspicuous  successes  than 
myself— if  the  gathering  together  of  these  in  this  book 
shall  assist  even  a  few  hard  working  young  master 
printers  to  the  goal  of  success,  I  shall  be  more  than 
repaid. 

I  love  the  printing  trade.  A  choice  bit  of  printing^ 
is  a  delight  to  my  eye;  and  the  click  of  the  types  and 
the  whirr  of  presses  is  music  to  my  ears.  Though,  my 
time  has  been  given  of  late  years  mainly  in  the  busi- 
ness office,  and  my  energies  directed  to  printing  for  a 
profit,  yet  I  have  never  wavered  in  my  regard  for  the 
art  for  its  own  sake.  The  true  printer  is  like  the  true 
artist — wedded  to  his  craft.  It  is  because  many  are  so 
firmly  bound  to  the  art  side  that  the  business  side  is 
so  often  forgotten,  and  that  this  book  is  needed  to 
remind  us  that  it  is  a  duty  to  learn  how  to  make 
money  in  the  business  quite  as  much  as  to  study  the 
nice  points  that  go  to  the  making  of  a  perfect  piece  of 
printing. 


CHAPTER  XXVlll. 

SUGGESTIONS    FROjM    OTHERS. 


THEODORE  L.  DE  VINNE. 

THE    DE  VINNE    PRESS. 

''How  to  succeed  in  the  printing  business,"  is  a 
conundrum  of  the  first  class.  We  all  know  of  men 
who  have  been  able,  honest,  frugal,  hard-working,  and 
have  not  succeeded.  Why  they  failed  is  not  easy  to 
explain.  Accident  and  circumstance  have  much  to  do 
with  success  or  f^iilure,  but  there  are  personal  qualities 
which  seem  to  me  necessary  to  success. 

First  of  all,  in  my  belief,  is  an  understanding  of  the 
business.  The  proprietor  of  a  printing  house  who  has 
not  learned  the  trade,  who  has  not  spent  many  years 
in  composing-room  or  pressroom,  does  business  as  a 
manager  under  great  disabilities.  Nor  is  it  enough  to 
know  how  to  set  type  or  work  a  press.  The  good 
compositor  or  pressman  cannot  be  fairly  qualified  to 
manage  a  business  on  his  own  account  unless  he  has  a 
knowledge  of  all  the  expenses  of  a  printing  house,  which 
are  always  greater  than  is  supposed.  This  knowledge 
can  be  had  only  by  access  to  the  account  books  of  a  well 
managed  business.     It  is  possible  for  the  man  who  has 


258  SUGGESTIONS   FROM   OTHERS. 

had  no  education  as  a  printer,  or  for  the  journeyman 
who  has  never  examined  account  books,  to  succeed, 
but  the  chances  are  ten  to  one  against  him.  He  has 
to  depend  upon  information  as  to  the  probable  perform- 
ance of  men  and  presses,  which  is  usually  overrated;  and 
as  to  the  unavoidable  expenses  of  wear  and  waste 
which  are  grossly  underrated.  The  men  who  furnish 
this  untrustworthy  information,  usually  his  own  em- 
ployees, are  innocent  of  any  intent  to  deceive*  They 
don't  know  how  much  it  costs  to  do  work,  for  this 
knowledge  can  be  had  only  from  a  study  of  account 
books.  They  guess,  and  believe  in  their  own  guesses, 
but  it  is  the  unpractical  proprietor  who  suffers  from 
their  mistaken  guesses.  Large  corporations  owned  or 
controlled  by  unpractical  men  are  the  ones  who  suffer 
most  severely  from  the  faulty  estimates  of  employees. 
Printing  has  been  done,  and  is  now  being  done,  at  from 
ten  to  twenty  per  cent,  below  its  actual  cost,  while 
the  owner  of  the  plant  is  led  to  believe  that  he  is 
making  a  good  profit.  In  a  business  so  managed  the 
loss  is  not  at  once  apparent.  It  takes  many  years  to 
accomplish  failure,  but  failure  is  sure  to  come. 

A  love  for  printing  is  equally  important.  The  man 
who  frets  over  the  drudgery  of  details,  who  turns  over 
to  his  employees  work  which  he  should  do  personally, 
who  does  not  like  to  handle  types  or  presses,  or 
even  to  study  their  peculiarities,  who  wants  to  be  an 
employer  in  a  lordly  and  magnificent  way,  is  sure  to 
find  sooner  or  later  that  the  faulty  estimates  of  his 
employees  have  assumed  alarming  proportions.  There 
are  proprietors  who,  having  a  fairly  equipped  printing 
house,  and  capital  and  credit,  think  that  the  business 
will  take  care  of  itself     Having   wound  up   the   clock, 


SUGGESTIONS   FROM    OTHERS.  259 

they  propose  to  sit  down  and  see  it  run.  There  is  no 
sadder  mistake.  No  printing  house  will  support  its 
owner  unless  he  does  his  best  to  support  it.  The 
complex  machinery  of  his  business  (for  it  is  complex 
when  one  considers  that  customers  and  workmen, 
banks  and  book-keeping,  types,  presses  and  material 
require  equal  attention),  cannot  be  made  automatic.  To 
keep  it  in  order  often  calls  for  constant  oversight  and 
frequent  drudgery.  It  is  not  pleasant,  metaphorically 
speaking,  to  put  on  overalls  and  get  inside  this 
complexity,  with  a  screw  wrench  in  one  hand  and  an 
oil  can  in  the  other,  tightening  here  and  oiling  there; 
but  this  is  work  that  must  be  done,  and  no  one  should 
do  it  better  than  the  proprietor.  The  drudgery  is 
endurable  to  one  who  loves  his  trade.  The  printer 
who  has  his  heart  in  his  trade  will  take  more  pleasure 
in  the  ownership  of  a  well-equipped  printing  house, 
and  in  the  planning  and  making  of  fine  jobs  or  books, 
than  he  would  in  the  possession  of  fine  horses  or 
houses.  The  man  who  loves  work  for  the  work's 
sake  may  not  always  succeed,  but  he  deserves  success, 
and  will  get  it  if  not  prevented  by  misfortune  or  want 
of  prudence. 

The  path  of  a  novice  in  printing  is  full  of  pitfalls. 
I  can  mention  but  a  few. 

One  is  the  giving  of  credit  to  irresponsible  persons. 
There  is  no  trade  so  frequently  ''worked  "  by  visionary 
or  dishonest  customers. 

Another  is  the  desire  to  do  more  work  than  is 
practicable  or  economical  within  a  fixed  period.  Work 
by  night  is  usually  a  loss,  even  at  high  rates. 

The  employment  of  solicitors  or  drummers  on  com- 
mission to   bring  work  in    the   house,  is  rarely   ever  a 


26o  SUGGESTIONS   FROM    OTHERS. 

success.  One  can  buy  gold  too  dear,  and  can  get  an 
increase  of  business  at  too  great  a  cost.  In  the  long 
run,  the  drummer  becomes  the  master  and  not  the 
servant. 

The  retaliatory  spirit  which  prompts  one  to  ''get 
even"  with  a  rival  who  has  taken  your  work  at  a  lower 
price  is  to  be  avoided.  To  take  his  work  out  of  spite 
at  losing  rates  does  not  benefit  the  taker.  The  sharp 
customer  profits  by  this  unwise  rivalry.  He  makes  and 
you  lose. 

The  competition  of  unfair  houses,  especially  of 
houses  chartered  to  do  religious  work,  and  largely 
benefited  by  the  contributions  of  the  devout — houses 
misled  i-n  estimates  by  salaried  employees — is  a  distinct 
misfortune. 

It  is  a  bitter  experience  to  have  attached  custom 
leave  you  for  an  unfair  rival,  but  it  is  an  experience 
that  every  printer,  large  or  small,  has  to  submit  to. 
In  prize  fighting,  it  is  not  the  man  who  strikes  the 
hardest  blows  who  always  wins  the  fight.  It  is  the 
man  who  can  ''stand  punishment"  who  oftenest  wins. 
The  young  printer  must  prepare  himself  to  accept  unfair 
competition  and  hard  blows  without  weakening.  If  he 
does  his  work  as  well  as  he  can,  and  earns  a  reputation 
for  fair  dealing  and  ability  he  too  will  win.  It  takes 
time,  but  he  will  win. 


CARL  SCHRAUBSTADTER. 

SECRETARY    AND    MANAGER    INLAND    TYPE    FOUNDRY. 

The  greatest  curse  of  the  printing  trade  is  the  fact 
that  too  many  people  go  into  it  improperly  equipped, 
not   as   far  as    plant   is    concerned,  but   in    respect    to 


SUGGESTIONS   FROM    OTHERS.  26 1 

capital  and  experience  The  four  requisites  for  success 
in  any  trade  are  sufficient  capital,  experience,  energy 
and  ability.  No  matter  how  much  of  the  last  two  the 
man  may  possess,  without  the  other  requisites  he  is 
almost  certain  to  make  a  failure.  Records  of  failures  in 
the  United  States  show  that  more  people  fail  from 
insufficient  capital  than  from  any  other  cause,  and  this 
result  may  be  largely  traced  to  lack  of  experience. 
Some  of  the  printers'  supply  and  paper  houses  are 
largely  responsible  for  this  condition  of  affairs.  They 
are  so  anxious  to  make  sales  that  they  will  furnish  a 
large  proportion  of  the  capital  needed  to  embark  in 
the  business.  As  a  consequence,  the  printer  is  handi- 
capped from  the  start  and  cannot  successfully  compete 
with  his  more  prosperous  brethren.  Almost  invariably 
when  a  concern  starts,  it  not  only  puts  all  its  available 
cash  into  its  plant,  so  as  to  cripple  it  for  lack  of 
working  capital,  but  goes  into  debt  for  some  of  its 
material,  agreeing  to  pay  a  certain  sum  per  month  to 
the  supply  house,  which  to  the  detriment  of  the  trade 
at  large,  encourages  such  business.  As  a  result,  the 
concern  is  always  hard  up,  and  in  order  to  get  money 
to  meet  its  payments  when  business  is  dull,  cuts  the 
prices  below  a  living  profit  and  gets  worse  into  the 
'mire.  I  cannot  too  strongly  decry  the  lack  of  business 
experience  in  the  average  printer  and  the  injury  it  is 
working  to  the  trade  at  large.  We  all  know  of  many 
printing  offices,  the  managers  of  which  have  no 
practical  knowledge  of  composition  or  presswork,  and 
yet  who  have  made  a  success  of  their  institutions.  On 
the  other  hand,  we  know  a  far  greater  number  of 
proprietors  who  have  thoroughly  mastered  the  mechan- 
ical part  of  their  trade,  yet  who  are  seriously  handicapped 


262  SUGGESTIONS    FROM    OTHERS. 

because  they  have  no  business  experience.  The  average 
master  printer  has  graduated  from  the  case,  invested 
his  Httle  savmgs  in  a  plant,  and  started  without  any 
knowledge  of  business  whatsoever.  If  he  has  prospered 
and  succeeded,  it  is  in  spite  of  this  fact  and  not  on 
account  of  it.  To  successfully  manage  a  business,  a  man 
should  have  had  experience  in  passing  on  credits,  in 
the  intricacies  of  banking  and  financing,  in  selecting, 
management  and  training  of  office  employees,  in  secur- 
ing work,  in  buying  and  advertising  to  advantage. 
In  almost  every  other  industry  attention  is  paid  to 
these  points,  and  the  man  who  starts  in  business 
for  himself  understands  most  of  them  through  the 
experience  of  others.  Unfortunately,  this  is  not  true  of 
the  printing  trade. 

The  printer  too  frequently  deceives  himself  as  to 
the  profits  of  the  business.  The  average  workman 
thinks  that  his  work  costs  him  little  beyond  paper, 
composition,  presswork  and  ink.  He  does  not  figure 
out  his  costs  as  accurately  as  he  should,  he  does  not 
keep  his  records  as  carefully  as  they  should  be  kept, 
nor,  in  figuring  on  work  carefully  does  he  study  the 
costs  of  previous  jobs  in  order  to  arrive  at  the  proper 
charges  he  should  make.  He  is  ajjt  to  take  his  cus- 
tomer's word  for  the  price  he  has  paid  for  similar  jobs 
and  base  his  own  thereon.  Often  the  data  thus 
furnished  are  incorrect,  and  in  many  cases,  with  exist- 
ing facilities  he  cannot  take  the  work  at  prices  actually 
offered  by  other  concerns  without  incurring  a  loss. 
Unless  he  has  the  courage  to  refuse  an  order  which 
will  not  render  him  a  profit,  at  the  best  he  will  make 
only  a  precarious  existence.  Very  few  printers  charge 
off  a  proper  amount  for  wear  and  tear,  and  as  a  conse- 


SUGGESTIONS   FROM   OTHERS.  26} 

quence  have  not  sufficient  money  to  invest  in  keeping 
an  office  up  to  date.  Running  with  worn  out  type 
and  antiquated  machinery,  they  can  never  hope  to 
compete  with  better  concerns.  No  manufacturing  in- 
dustry can  stand  still.  It  must  either  go  forward  or 
retrograde,  and  the  large  number  of  failures  in  the 
printing  business  is  mostly  due  to  this  cause. 

Despite  such  drawbacks,  printing  is  by  no  means 
an  unprofitable  business.  Although  in  many  localities 
it  is  overcrowded,  there  is  plenty  of  room  on  top; 
and  every  day  we  see  and  hear  of  concerns  that  have 
started  up  and  are  making  money,  and  rapidly  in- 
creasing in  size.  A  very  frequent  cause  of  failure, 
however,  is  too  rapid  growth.  The  printer  who  is 
successful  with  a  few  platen  presses  is  persuaded  by  a 
cylinder  press  agent  to  purchase  a  large  press.  Usually 
he  has  barely  sufficient  capital  to  swing  his  old  trade. 
He  p:iys  out  as  a  cash  payment  all  his  available  money 
and  does  not  stop  to  consider  that  with  an  increased 
business  he  will  have  to  have  more  ready  money  to 
purchase  stock,  labor  and  power,  and  to  carry  his 
customers.  1  cannot  too  strongly  recommend  conserva- 
tism in  this  detail. 

I  consider  that  the  best  method  for  a  printer  to 
assure  himself  of  success  is  to  pick  out  a  specialty. 
The  most  successful  printers  in  a  small  way  are  those 
who  carefully  look  over  the  field  and  select  some 
particular  branch  to  which  they  devote  their  entire 
energy.  No  one  can  do  all  classes  of  work  to  equal 
advantage.  Very  often  you  hear  a  printer  complaining 
of  the  price  at  which  a  certain  job  of  work  was  taken 
when  the  printer  who  accepted  it  may  have  exceptional 
facilities  for  turning   it    out   cheaply  and    still   make    a 


264  SUGGESTIONS    FROM    OTHERS. 

good  profit.  There  are  many  branches  of  trade  which 
can  be  worked  up  so  as  to  produce  ample  work  at 
remunerative  prices. 

Printer's  advertising  is  understood  by  but  a  few 
concerns,  and  those  few  are  uniformly  successful.  No 
trade  offers  such  opportunities  as  this.  The  printer  is 
the  only  one  who  can  get  his  advertising  at  cost  price, 
but  usually  it  is  spasmodically  and  poorly  done.  Many 
printers  do  not  advertise  at  all  and  others  confine 
themselves  to  hackneyed  forms  of  blotters  and  poorly 
conceived  and  executed  circulars.  In  order  lo  be 
successful,  it  must  be  done  carefully  and  systematically. 
It  is  useless  to  send  printed  matter  to  those  who  are 
not  likely  to  be  customers,  and  it  is  equally  useless  to 
send  out  advertisments  which  are  not  likely  to  attract 
attention  or  bring  in  an  order. 


WM.  J.   BERKOWITZ. 

On  the  first  of  June,  1899,  our  firm  quit  Job  Printing 
and  continued  one  branch  of  our  business  exclusively, 
viz: — the  making  and  printing  of  envelopes.  We  decided 
about  the  first  of  January  to  sell  out  our  job  printing  plant 
and  began  a  series  of  advertisements  looking  to  that 
end.  Now  we  want  to  recite  our  experience  that  in 
itself  may  prove  of  great  value  to  the  hard  working 
enthusiast  that  is  wearing  out  his  life  and  his  machinery 
at  the  same  time  for  the  benefit  of  the  man  who  buys 
printing. 

We  were  doing  a  job  printing  business  of  $65,000 
a  year.  We  could  find  no  buyer  for  a  printing  busi- 
ness. There  is  no  agency  (we  could  not  find  any)  that 
made  a  business  of  selling   printing  offices.     A  number 


SUGGESTIONS    FROM   OTHERS.  265 

make  it  a  business  to  sell  newspapers.  The  man  who 
is  looking  for  an  old  established  printing  office  is  the 
man  who  has  no  money  to  buy  new,  up-to-date, 
modern  machinery,  and  so  you  cannot  afford  to  sell 
out,  or  give  away,  your  plant  to  an  irresponsible  man 
without  means.  Men  who  do  not  understand  the 
printing  business  will  not  venture  into  it,  and  men 
who  do,  who  have  been  in  the  business  for  years,  have 
no  money  to  move  and  buy  other  plants.  ■  They  have 
not  accumulated  anything.  So  we  sold  our  plant 
piecemeal  and  at  prices  ''under  the  hammer." 

So  the  money  you  put  into  increasing  your  plant 
must  never  be  figured  as  so  much  profit.  Depreciation 
of  plant  and  interest  on  investment  are  the  opposing 
forces  that  wipe  away  every  dollar  of  profit  at  the 
prices  printing  is  done  by  the   average  printer. 

In  the  face  of  the  advance  in  paper  and  supplies  the 
price  of  printing  keeps  going  down.  The  first  step, 
therefore,  in  the  solution  of  this  terrific  problem  is,  get  a 
legitimate  price  for  work,  a  price  that  carries  a  margin 
with  it  without  regard  to  the  price  cutter,  or  the  man 
who  is  looking  for  "  Fillers."  Be  independent  of  these. 
Lay  down  a  principle  in  business  ''Your  money's  worth," 
and  give  it;  but  let  us  be  honest  to  ourselves  and  add 
this  personal  profit  "A  proper  return  for  time,  capital, 
energy  and  brain,"  and  no  man  will  deny  you  this 
right. 

I  heard  a  prominent  newspaper  man  say  to  one  of 
our  prosperous  merchants,  "The  job  printing  business 
is  the  hardest  and  the  meanest  business  that  a  man  can 
embark  in.  The  risk  entailed  and  the  small  margin  of 
profit,  if  any,  and  the  loss  on  plant  leaves  the  printer 
absolutely  nothing." 


266  SUGGESTIONS   FROM   OTHERS. 

No  business  has  more  details,  demands  more  careful 
watching,  entails  more  strain  on  the  nerves,  and  requires 
more  brainwork,  and  above  all,  pays  so  little.  I  wish 
every  printer  would  make  a  text  book  of  these  chapters 
from  the  pen  of  Paul  Nathan  and  study  every  page 
by  heart.  The  broad  common  sense  contained  therein, 
backed  up  by  facts  and  a  few  figures  are  convincing 
truths  against  the  ruinous  methods  practiced  by  the 
average  printer  in  every  city  in  the  United  States. 


J.  CLYDE  OSWALD. 

The  chapters  from  your  book,  ''How  to  Make 
Money  in  the  Printing  Business,"  have  been  received 
and  1  have  been  much  interested  in  their  perusal.  In 
undertaking  to  instruct  printers  how  to  make  money 
you  have  undertaken  a  big  task,  not  so  much  because  it 
is  difficult  to  devise  a  plan  to  accomplish  that  desirable 
end,  but  because  although  the  way  be  shown,  the 
average   employing  printer  seems  reluctant  to  follow  it. 

Printers  do  make  money.  Look  about  you  and  the 
fact  becomes  at  once  apparent,  for  it  is  a  fact  that  all 
the  large  establishments  had  small  beginnings,  and  in 
nearly  every  case  the  money  used  to  get  the  machinery 
and  materials  in  these  establishments  together  was 
made  right  in  the  business. 

No  fault  is  to  be  found  with  a  printer  on  the 
ground  that  he  does  not  make  money,  but  he  is  to  be 
blamed  because  he  does  not  keep  it.  Look  at  the 
well-known  printers  in  New  York  that  we  know, 
many  of  whom  have  been  in  business  twenty  years  or 
more,  that  could  not  raise  $20,000  in  cash  no  matter 
how  hard  they  might  try;  yet  each  will  agree,  1  think, 


SUGGESTIONS   FROM    OTHERS.  267 

that  he  could  have  taken  one  or  two  thousands  of 
dollars  out  of  his  business  annually  without  much 
difficulty.  Instead,  however,  they  put  the  money, 
usually  before  it  is  made,  in  more  machinery  and 
materials,  constantly  adding  to  the  plant,  and  never 
knowing  what  it  means  to  be  out  of  debt.  A  thousand 
dollars  in  the  bank  is  so  much  money  to  the  good 
that  will  continually  increase;  a  thousand  dollars  in- 
vested in  a  machine  becomes  $750  or  less  as  soon  as 
the  machine  is  set  up,  and  it  goes  on  dwindling  year 
after  year.  1  do  not  advocate  that  a  printer  should  not 
add  to  his  plant — far  from  that;  what  I  do  say  is 
that  instead  of  reaching  out  for  all  the  work  in  sight 
he  should  first  get  a  better  price  for  what  he  is  doing; 
second,  get  something  more  than  a  living  out  of  his 
business,  and  third,  buy  machines  when  he  has  the 
money  to  pay  for  them. 

You  will  see  that  1  have  a  personal  interest  in 
desiring  an  improvement  in  the  printing  business  when 
I  tell  you  that  I  receive  letters  regularly  from  good- 
sized  printing  offices  thanking  me  for  sending  them 
sample  copies  of  The  American  Printer  and  Bookmaker, 
and  explaining  that  they  do  not  subscribe  because  they 
cannot  afford  to  pay  the  two  dollars  a  year  required. 
When  a  man  makes  an  excuse  that  does  not  need  to 
be  made  it   is  usually  safe  to  believe  him. 

I  hope,  therefore,  that  you  will  be  successful  in 
showing  printers  how  to  make  enough  money  to 
enable  them  to  possess  an  occasional  two  dollar  bill 
that  they  can  consider  all  their  own  and  to  spend  as 
they  please. 


268  SUGGESTIONS   FROM   OTHERS. 


C.  S.  MOREHOUSE. 

I  HAVE  read  carefully  your  advanced  chapters  in 
**Hov/  to  Make  Money  in  the  Printing  Business" — those 
on  "Estimating,"  "Acquiring  Money,"  "  Price  Cutting," 
and  "Competitors."  1  thoroughly  endorse  all  you  have 
written.  The  rules  you  have  formulated  are  very  closely 
on  the  lines  I  have  endeavored  to  follow  in  a  business 
life  of  fifty  years. 

The  printer  who  will  always  ask  a  fair  price  for  his 
work,  striving  to  do  creditable  work,  giving  an  honest 
dollar's  worth  of  service  for  each  dollar  received,  must 
succeed.  The  customer  who  wishes  prices  cut  for  his 
benefit,  should  always  be  induced  to  pass  on.  If 
prices  are  cut  for  one  man,  they  will  be  for  another,  and 
a  rat  office  is  the  result.  The  printer  who  is  dishonest 
to  himself  by  giving  away  his  time,  and  the  time  of 
his  hands,  and  sells  his  stock  for  cost,  will  soon  come 
to  grief.     He  is  on  a  down  hill  grade. 

Your  book  must  be  a  valuable  aid  to  the  young 
beginner — if  he  is  a  reading  man,  and  is  willing  to  try 
and  learn  from  the  experience  of  those  longer  in  the 
trade,  who  have  met  success.  One  serious  trouble 
with  young  printers — and  for  that  matter,  many  older 
ones— is  that  they  will  not  read  up.  They  ignore  the 
company  of  other  printers.  They  will  not  join  "The 
Typothetae."  They  do  not  read  its  "Annual  Reports." 
They  do  not  read  the  trade  journals.  They  do  not  care 
for  such  books  as  you  and  Mr.  DeVinne  and  others 
have  written  for  their  instruction.  They  are  selfish,  and 
imagine  every  other  printer  must  be  selfish,  hence  they 
will  not  associate  with  them,  not  realizing  they  are  the 


SUGGESTIONS   FROM    OTHERS.  269 

only  ones  who  must  come  to  grief.  Every  successful, 
up-to-date  master  printer  is  the  friend  of  every  new 
beginner,  and  is  glad  to  lend  them  a  helping  hand  and 
a  kind  word  of  encouragement. 

1  am  sure  ''The  master  printers  who  realize  that 
there  is  a  practical  side  to  the  printing  art,  and  who 
desire  to  know  the  surest  methods  of  making  profits," 
will  certainly  welcome  your  coming  book  with  joy. 


CHAS.   H.  COCHRANE. 

The  way  to  make  money  in  the  printing  business  is 
to  collect  considerably  more  for  your  work  than  it  costs 
to  turn  it  out.  The  reason  why  so  many  printers  do 
not  do  this  seems  to  me  to  be  that  they  are  deluded 
as  to  the  cost  of  production.  No  man  would  buy  coal 
at  $4  a  ton,  handle  it  at  an  expense  of  $i,  and  sell  it 
at  $5  and  think  that  he  was  making  money;  but  that 
is  about  the  way  a  great  deal  of  the  production  of 
printing  is  managed. 

When  every  job  printer  can  be  brought  to  realize 
that  the  labor  is  only  a  small  item  of  the  total  cost  in 
doing  a  job  printing  business,  and- very  frequently  ex- 
ceeded by  the  aggregate  of  miscellaneous  small  expenses 
on  which  he  does  not  figure  at  all,  there  will  be  less 
doing  of  work  at  or  below  cost.  Let  every  master 
printer  remember  that  he  has  to  make  his  own  business 
and  profits,  and  that  if  Hustle  &  Bust  are  chopping 
prices  that  is  no  reason  why  he  should  do  a  single  job 
at  a  rate  that  does  not  yield  a  fair  profit. 

I  think  the  job  printing  business  a  fairly  good  busi- 
ness for  the  man  who  is  a  business  man,  but  it  may 
be  a  very  poor   business    for   the    man    who   is  only  a 


270  SUGGESTIONS    FROM    OTHERS. 

good  printer.  Let  the  printer  once  definitely  understand 
that  he  must  become  a  business  man,  and  that  being 
a  business  man  is  as  much  of  a  trade  as  being  a  printer, 
and  that  it  is  more  necessary  to  the  making  of  a  profit*, 
and  there  will  be  fewer  failures  in  the  printing  business. 

There  is  nothing  in  figuring  on  competitive  work  if 
it  is  to  go  to  the  lowest  bidder,  since  desirable  jobs 
seldom  do  go  to  the  lowest  bidder,  because  those 
who  give  them  out  are  afraid  that  the  work  will  not  be 
done  satisfactorily.  It  is  usually  a  medium  figure  by  a 
good  house  that  catches  a  large  job  on  which  a  number 
have  estimated.  The  naming  of  a  good  price  on  a  job 
is  almost  sure  to  make  the  customer  think  that  it  will 
be  well  done,  and  he  wants  that  house  to  do  the  job. 
Often  he  will  simply  take  the  figures  of  the  lower 
bidders  and  go  to  the  highest  and  use  the  figures  to 
bear  the  price  all  he  can,  but  at  the  same  time  with  the 
intention  of  leaving  the  job  with  this  high-priced  (i.  e. 
good)  printer. 

When  we  look  among  the  master  printers  of  our 
acquaintance  and  note  that  those  who  are  doing  the 
most  business  are  also  the  ones  who  receive  the  highest 
prices  for  their  work,  we  should  profit  by  the  lesson. 
The  printer  who  once  gets  this  thoroughly  into  his 
head  has  reached  a  broad  stepping-stone  on  the  up- 
ward path  to  success. 

HENRY  L.   BULLEN. 

MANAGER    F.   WESEL    MANUFACTURING    CO. 

The  question  *'How  to  Operate  a  Printing  Office 
Profitably?"  will  be  asked  so  long  as  printing  is  called 
for,    and    will    always    remain    unanswered    except    to 


SUGGESTIONS    FROM   OTHERS.  27 1 

those  who  answer  it  for  themselves.  Success  in  print- 
ing business,  and  in  other  businesses,  is  an  art  that 
cannot  be  taught  academically — it  rests  on  capacity, 
courage  and  good  judgment  inherent  in  proprietor  and 
manager.  Find  your  man,  success  follows.  Profits  are 
obtained  by  a  knowledge  of  cost;  the  courage  which 
adds  sufficient  profit  to  cost,  based  on  well  defined 
rules  and  percentages;  and  good  judgment  in  applying 
the  rules  and  percentages.  To  satisfy  the  customer  is 
the  objective.  The  customer  demands  good  value,  and 
profit  is  as  much  a  part  of  value  as  the  actual  cost  of 
material  and  labor.  The  customer  expects  to  pay  the 
profit,  but  likes  the  profit-pill  sugar-coated.  He  who 
has  the  art  of  sugar-coating  that  pill  and  at  the  same 
time  keeps  the  pill  big  enough  is  on  the  road  to 
success.  How  to  do  it.?  'Tis  a  prescription  unwritten 
— a  gift  of  the  Gods.  Would  that  all  printers  were 
successful ;  but,  if  this  be  not  granted,  would  that  those 
who  do  not  make  profits  could  cease  to  ascribe  their 
losses  to  the  sins  of  their  competitors.  You  can  no 
more  teach  a  printer  to  succeed  in  business  than  you 
can  teach  a  salesman  to  sell  successfully,  or  a  lawyer 
to  plead  convincingly;  nevertheless,  as  experience  is 
neccessary  to  the  complete  development  of  the  three 
inherent  business  virtues  of  a  business  man,  the  educa- 
tional propaganda  is  necessary  and  valuable,  especially 
when  it  is  so  practical  and  convincing  as  in  the  pages 
of  your  book.  Such  public-spirited  labors  deserve 
applause,  and  the  beneficial  results  are  far  reaching. 
Your  efforts  to  uphold  the  dignity  of  our  important 
industry,  and  to  secure  to  the  printer  his  just  profits, 
have  placed  the  whole  fraternity  under  obligations  to 
you. 


272  SUGGESTIONS   FROM    OTHERS. 

NATHAN  BILLSTEIN. 

THE     FRIEDENWALD     COMPANY,    BALTIMORE,    MD. 

My  experience  in  the  printing  business,  which 
began  in  the  smallest  way,  has  taught  me  that  the 
most  important  thing  for  a  man  to  do,  if  he  intends  to 
make  money  in  it,  is  to  adopt  certain  definite  aims  and 
methods  of  accomplishing  them,  then  adhere  to  these 
absolutely;  a  periodical  review  of  results  should  be  made 
and  methods  should  be  modified  and  improved  as  the 
individual  conditions  and  experience  may  require. 

Looking  backward,  it  is  now  perfectly  plain  to  me 
that  often  my  prices  were  made  too  low  only  because 
the  real  cost  was  not  known,  when  adequate  prices 
could  have  been  had  for  the  asking.  On  the  other 
hand,  my  prices  naturally  were  sometimes  too  high, 
and  business  was  lost  which  would  have  been  very 
profitable  and  which  would  have  been  the  beginnings 
of  trade  which  has  since  grown  to  proportions  of 
magnitude  in  the  hands  of  others. 

Such  success  as  I  have  achieved '  has  been  gained 
through  the  following  things: 

1.  Doing  good  work  and  obtaining  the 
confidence  of  my  customers  by  the  interest 
shown  in  the  execution  of  their  orders,  and 
close  attention  to  business. 

2.  Charging  the  same  prices  when  esti- 
mates were  not  asked  for  as  when  they  were. 

3.  Building  up  gradually  a  trade  which 
gave  me  the  bulk  of  my  orders  without  com- 
petition. 


SUGGESTIONS   FROM   OTHERS.  273 

4.  Having  my  product  carefully  packed,  so 
that  it  reached  my  customers  in  convenient 
form   and  in  good  order. 

5.  Avoiding  "fillers"  and  cutting  at  the 
trade  of  other  printers. 

6.  Placing  myself  in  the  way  of  getting 
orders  for  new  work. 

The  fact  that  the  business  of  printing  is  and 
must  be  largely  confined  to  locality,  and  the  fact  that 
the  concerns  offering  the  lowest  prices  fail  to  monopo- 
lize the  business,  point  conclusively  to  the  truth  that 
other  things  than  the  lowest  prices  secure  the  most  and 
the  best  of  the  orders. 

Our  patron  saint  is  credited  with  the  saying  **Take 
care  of  the  pennies  and  the  dollars  will  take  care  of 
themselves;  "  adapting  the  phrase  1  might  say,  "take  care 
of  the  profit  on  each  job  and  the  business  will  take 
care  of  itself. ' 


JNO.  W.  CAMPSIE. 

MANAGER    PRINTING    DEPARTMENT,    EVENING   WISCONSIN    CO. 

This  is  a  subject  that  can  only  be  handled  intelli- 
gently by  those  who  have  realized  this  longed-for  result 
in  the  conduct  of  their  own  business. 

1  am  pleased  to  state  that  we  have  succeeded  in 
obtaining  very  satisfactory  returns  in  the  way  of  profit, 
and  believe  that  anyone  can  accomplish  the  same 
result  if  they  will  pursue  the  proper  course. 

First:  See  to  it  that  you  have  the  best  machinery 
you  can   secure   that  is   adapted  to   the   class   of  work 


274  SUGGESTIONS   FROM    OTHERS. 

you  do,  and  do   not   have  any  more   presses   than  you 
actually  require  to  handle  the  work. 

Second:  Secure  the  best  pressmen  you  can  obtain, 
even  if  you  have  to  pay  them  an  advance  price  over 
the  regular  scale,  and  provide  a  well-lighted  and  con- 
veniently arranged  press  room  for  them. 

Third:  Equip  your  composing-room  with  a  care- 
fully selected  stock  of  type,  borders,  labor-saving  rule, 
metal  furniture,  etc.,  but  be  careful  to  purchase  the  type 
in  series — good,  full  cases  to  each  sized  letter,  and  don't 
get  too  large  a  variety  of  type.  Rather  get  larger  fonts 
of  the  faces  that  can  be  kept  in  constant  use,  and 
replace  it  when  worn  out  with  new.  Don't  get  fonts 
that  are  so  nearly  similar  that  the  customer  doesn't 
know  the  difference.  Have  a  sufficient  number  of 
chases  and  quoins  and  metal  furniture  so  time  will  not 
be  lost  in  unlocking  forms. 

Fourth  :  Keep  a  careful  record  of  all  work  done  in 
the  various  departments,  and  ascertain  the  exact  cost 
of  hand  composition,  presswork,  linotype  work,  etc. 
Don't  take  anyone's  word  for  it,  but  investigate  for  your- 
self. Remember  that  on  every  job  you  do  there  are 
many  items  of  expense  that  enter  into  it  aside  from  those 
that  appear  on  the  surface  that  must  be  included  in  an 
expense  account  to  be  added  to  the  other  costs.  Find 
out  what  your  expense  is  by  taking  all  the  items  of 
''unproductive  labor,"  for  one  year,  such  as  foremen, 
superintendent,  stockmen,  proof  readers,  copy  holders, 
etc.,  rent,  fuel,  light,  insurance,  interest  on  investment, 
depreciation,  repairs,  commission,  telephones,  telegrams, 
travelling  expenses,  etc.,  etc.,  and  dividing  it  by  the 
amount  of  the  business  done  during  the  same  period, 
this  will  represent   a  certain   percentage    (not   less   than 


SUGGESTIONS    FROM   OTHERS.  275 

twenty-five)  which  is  an  actual  cost,  and  must  be  added 
to  costs  before  adding  any  profits. 

Fifth :  Never  allow  an  estimate  of  any  consequence 
to  go  out  without  proving  it.  Figure  the  paper  both 
ways.  That  is,  if  you  have  i,ooo  copies  of  a  128  page 
catalogue  size  6x9,  first  figure  that  you  can  get  }2 
pages  to  the  sheet,  or  four  sheets  to  the  catalogue, 
representing  4,000  sheets  or  eight  reams.  Then  figure 
that  each  form  will  require  500  sheets  work  and  turn, 
or  eight  forms,  requiring  4,000  sheets  or  eight  reams — 
thus  proving  that  your  paper  is  correct.  When  there 
are  solid  cut  forms,  allow  for  the  amount  of  ink  used, 
and  don't  be  afraid  to  consult  your  pressmen  as  to  the 
probable  amount  to  be  used,  and  see  if  their  estimate 
is  in  keeping  with  your  own. 

Sixth :  Take  a  personal  interest  in  all  work  en- 
trusted to  your  care  and  impress  the  customer  with  the 
fact  that  you  are  giving  him  your  best  efforts,  and  the 
benefit  of  your  skill  and  experience.  Make  your  work 
of  a  higher  grade  and  possess  more  originality  and 
character  than  your  competitor's,  and  he  will  soon 
realize  that  your  work  creates  business  for  him — brings 
about  the  results  he  sought  to  obtain.  He  will  have 
confidence  in  you,  and  will  be  willing  you  should  make 
a  fair  profit  for  your  skill  and  ability. 

Seventh :  Meet  all  your  obligations  promptly.  Have 
a  certain  date  on  which  to  pay  all  bills,  and  take  ad- 
vantage of  discounts  wherever  possible.  Keep  your 
business  office  clean  and  attractive,  and  have  samples 
of  your  work  neatly  framed  and  hung  about  the  walls. 
See  that  clerks  are  courteous  and  efficient  and  are 
cleanly  in  their  attire.  Use  tact  and  judgment  in 
handling  your  customers  and   be  fair   and   honest  with 


276  SUGGESTIONS    FROM    OTHERS. 

all   your  competitors,  never   allowing  yourself  to  speak 
illy  of  them. 

These  are  a  few  of  the  elements  that  will  tend  to 
make  a  success  of  the  printing  business,  and  give  the 
employer  a  fair  return  on  the  money  he  has  invested. 
But  it  also  requires  constant  personal  supervision,  and 
everlasting  vigilance  to  cut  off  all  leakages. 


SIGMUND  ULLMAN. 

SIGMUND    ULLMAN    CO.,    INK    MAKERS. 

"IVater,  water,  everywhere  and  not  a  drop  to  drink." 

Prosperity  everywhere,  but  none  for  the  printer. 
This  is  the  complaint  1  have  heard  at  every  meeting  of 
the  N.  Y.  Typothetae  1  have  attended,  and  at  the  con- 
vention in  New  Haven.  What  can  be  done  to  improve 
the  condition  of  the  printing  trade — is  the  question 
which  has  been  argued  for  years.  1  have  been  requested 
by  Mr.  Paul  Nathan,  the  author  of  this  book,  to  render 
my  opinion  on  the  subject. 

It  appears  to  me  that  the  printing  business  is  poorest 
in  the  larger  and  largest  cities  of  the  United  States, 
and  many  causes  combine  to  make  it  so.  One  of  the 
principal  causes  is  the  fact  that  the  majority  of  printers 
are  not  business  men.  They  do  not  realize  that  printing 
to-day,  or  at  least  95  per  cent,  of  it,  is  a  manufacture, 
and  not  an  art.  To-day  it  is  an  art  to  manuf^icture  the 
best  printing  at  the  lowest  price.  The  manufacturer 
of  to-day  must  in  the  first  place  have  up-to-date 
machinery,  and  furthermore,  must  be  an  expert  in  the 
purchase  of  all  materials  he  requires.  He  must  be  fully 
posted  as  to    the  market   value   of  everything  he  buys. 


SUGGESTIONS   FROM   OTHERS.  277 

Nine-tenths  of  all  printers  know  only  what  they  pay 
for  their  materials,  but  they  do  not  know  what  they 
could  be  bought  at.  They  leave  this  most  important 
question  in  the  hands  of  subordinates,  it  being  simply 
a  question  of  luck  whether  or  not  these  trusted  buyers 
are  dishonest,  ignorant  or  perhaps  both. 

In  a  great  number  of  printing  establishments  not 
a  pound  of  ink  will  be  used,  unless  some  one  is  paid 
for  using  it.  When  he  is  paid  for  using  ink,  he  will 
gradually  get  paid  for  everything  admitted  into  that 
establishment,  from  a  web  press  down  to  the  latest 
novelty.  It  is  well-known  that  the  laboring  classes 
have  always  strenuously  opposed  all  inventions  tending 
to  reduce  cost  of  production.  The  inventor  of  the 
steam  engine  encountered  the  same  opposition  as  did 
the  inventor  of  the  Linotype.  When  a  buyer  is  paid 
for  using  a  certain  firm's  goods  he  considers  it  his  duty 
to  keep  out  everybody  else's.  No  printer  can  do  a 
competing  business  to-day  unless  he  has  the  ability  to 
buy  all  his  materials  at  the  lowest  prices  at  which 
they  can  be  bought.  The  printers  of  the  large  cities 
are  simply  being    robbed  every  day. 

A  large  quantity  of  printing  which  was  formerly  done 
in  large  cities  now  goes  to  such  printers  in  smaller  cities 
where  the  proprietors  have  time  to  attend  to  their 
business.  The  printers  in  New  York  have  not  got 
time  to  attend  to  their  business.  They  are  always  in  a 
hurry.  They  will  spend  a  half-day  making  an  estimate 
for  a  customer  for  a  twenty-dollar  job,  but  when  a 
salesman  comes  to  see  them,  who  could  probably  save 
them  thousands  of  dollars  per  year  and  put  them  in  a 
position  to  better  compete,  he  will  not  be  received. 

One  of  the   greatest   bug-bears   for  a   printer  is  the 


278  SUGGESTIONS   FROM   OTHERS. 

estimate  ;  and  it  is  so,  because  when  an  estimate  is 
demanded  the  printer  imagines  that  he  has  got  to 
make  the  lowest  price,  and  if  he  does  he  will  get  the 
job.  If  he  makes  a  low  estimate  and  does  not  get  the 
job  he  thinks  some  one  else  gave  a  lower  estimate, 
and  the  next  chance  he  gets  to  estimate  on  that  job 
he  will  estimate  still  lower.  1  think  this  is  a  great 
mistake.  Most  customers  who  ask  for  an  estimate, 
ask  for  it  because  they  have  not  the  slightest  idea  what 
the  job  is  worth,  and  want  to  find  out ;  and  I  further- 
more think  that  the  printer  who  gives  the  lowest 
estimate  will  not  get  the  job,  because  it  is  too  low, 
and  the  customer  is  afraid  the  job  will  not  be  properly 
done.  In  some  cases  the  customer  has  a  certain  printer 
in  view  to  whom  he  is  going  to  give  this  job,  and 
estimates  of  other  printers  are  simply  used  to  keep  the 
favorite  printer  within  certain  limits,  and  he  in  most 
cases  will  get  the  job  anyway,  and  probably  at  a 
much  higher  price  than  the  lowest  estimate.  I  would 
suggest  that  employing  printers  unite  and  agree  to 
make  a  charge  of  $5  or  $10  for  giving  an  estimate. 
Why  should  a  printer  spend  sometimes  days  of  time 
and  go  to  expense  to  establish  the  fact  for  some 
customer  of  some  other  printer  that  he  is  paying  too 
much  for  his  work.  If  it  is  not  worth  $5  or  $10  to  a 
customer  to  get  an  estimate  he  ought  not  to  ask  for  it. 
There  may  be  some  other  causes  working  towards 
the  entire  ruin  of  the  printing  business  of  New  York 
and  other  large  cities,  but  the  ones  I  have  described 
strike  me  as  being  the  principal  ones. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

THE    RELATION    OF    PAPER-FEEDING    MACHINES  TO 
PROFIT    IN    THE    PRESSROOM. 

In  no  branch  of  the  printer's  craft  has  there  been 
greater  advancement  during  recent  years  than  in  the 
pressroom.  Not  only  has  the  quality  of  printing  im- 
proved, but  the  speed  and  economy  of  production  has 
made  such  strides  that  in  1900  it  is  actually  less  costly 
to  do  fine  printing  than  it  was  to  do  common  press- 
work  in  1880.  A  number  of  causes  have  combined  to 
produce  this  result.  The  tendency  to  build  larger  and 
heavier  cylinder  printing  presses  has  steadily  increased, 
as  with  each  gain  in  size  of  machine  the  printer  has 
found  that  he  could  produce  presswork  more  economi- 
cally, and  with  increased  heaviness  of  machines  and 
improved  mechanical  movements  in  the  presses  he  has 
secured  greater  and  greater  speeds,  until  now  it  is  not 
more  difficult  to  drive  a  44x65  cylinder  press  weighing 
a  dozen  tons  at  a  speed  of  1,500  to  2,000  impressions 
an  hour,  than  it  used  to  be  to  drive  a  pony  cylinder  of 
one  and  a  half  tons  at  that  speed. 

The  press-builders,  who  made  these  things  possible 
for  the  printer,  went  even  further  than  present  demands, 
for  they  built  cylinders  that  would  run  faster  than  men 
could  be  found  to  feed  them  accurately.  There  are  plenty 
of  hand  feeders  who  will  tell  you  that  they  can  feed 
sheets  at  from  1,500  to  2,000  an  hour,  but  when  they 
come  to  be  tested  it  turns  out  that  they  require  to  have 


28o  PAPER-FEEDING   MACHINES. 

a  small  sheet,  and  not  too  much  care  for  register,  also 
that  they  trip  the  impression  frequently,  and  require 
stoppages  for  rest,  so  that  there  is  no  particular  gain  in 
belting  the  cylinders  up  to  those  speeds.  On  large  sheets 
requiring  good  register,  a  thousand  perfect  sheets  an  hour 
is  all  that  can  be  expected  of  good  hand  feeders,  even 
though  the  presses  are  belted  at  1,300  to  1,500  an  hour; 
and  the  average  product  is  certainly  below  rather  than 
above  the  thousand  mark.  The  ability  of  high-class 
two-revolution  presses  to  maintain  enduring  speeds  of 
1,600  to  2,000  an  hour  in  the  larger  sizes,  and  2,000  to 
3,000  in  the  smaller  sizes,  was  the  opportunity  of  the 
automatic  paper-feeder. 

The  *' Economic"  paper-feeding  machine,  which  had 
a  long  and  successful  record  in  supplying  paper  to  ruling 
machines  and  folding  machines,  was  tested  on  printing 
presses  some  years  since,  and  found  to  be  practical, 
despite  the  more  difficult  character  of  the  paper  handled. 
It  was  gradually  developed  and  improved  until  its  opera- 
tion was  so  certain  and  automatic  on  all  grades  of  paper 
that  it  came  to  be  accepted  by  many  of  the  larger  printers 
of  the  country,  who  have  added  more  and  more  feeding 
machines  to  their  plants,  until  now  it  is  a  common  sight 
to  see  large  pressrooms  where  every  cylinder  press  has 
its  automatic  feeder  attached. 

Feeding  machines  have  been  regarded  by  some  as 
designed  simply  to  save  the  time  and  labor  of  a  man 
feeder.  They  do  a  great  deal  more  than  that;  in  fact 
that  is  only  a  small  part  of  the  economy  which  they 
produce.  It  has  been  demonstrated  by  progressive 
printers,  who  have  put  in  a  few  "Economic"  feeding 
machines  as  a  test,  that  the  increase  in  production  for 
the    presses   is   the   greatest   advantage,    amounting   to 


PAPER-FEEDING   MACHINES. 


281 


much  more  than  the  saving  of  the  hand  feeder's  wages. 
This  increased  production,  combined  with  a  saving  of 
at  least  one  hand  feeder  to  every  two  presses,  together 


The  ''Economic'^   Automatic   Paper-Feeding  Machine  attached  to  a 
Modern  Drop-Roller  Folding  Machine 

Courtesy  of  E.  C.  Fuller  &  Co. 

with  other  economies,  such  as  avoiding  spoilage  of  paper, 
make  the  machine  one  of  the  most  profitable  investments 
ever  offered  to  the  printer.  In  these  days  no  printer 
having  steady  work  for  his  cylinders  can  afford  to 
continue  to  run  them  with  hand  labor,  any  more  than 
he  can  continue  to  run  his  job  presses  by  foot  power. 
A  very  little  calculation  shows  that  the  automatic  feeder 
is  simply  indispensable  to  profit  earning,  and  that  the 
pressrooms  which  are  the  last  to  get  into  line  with  the 
new  order  of  machinery  are  likely  to  drop  into  the 
sheriff's  hands  because  of  their  lack  of  enterprise  and 
foresight. 


282  PAPER-FEEDING   MACHINES. 

A  comparison  of  the  cost  of  operating  two  cylinder 
presses  by  the  old  and  by  the  new  method  is  very 
edifying  in  this  connection.  Suppose  we  have  two 
40x60  modern  two-revolution  cylinder  presses :  With  hand 
feeding  the  cost  of  operating  per  week  in  a  large  city 
will  be  $20  to  $22  for  a  pressman,  and  $12  each  for  two 
feeders,  and  $45  to  $55  for  general  expenses  (which 
differ  with  conditions  and  the  way  printers  calculate), 
but  say  a  total  of  $100  cost  for  the  week's  run  on  the 
two  machines.  A  high  average  for  the  production  from 
the  machines  will  be  100,000  impressions,  which  the 
printer  ought  to  sell  for  $150,  leaving  a  margin  of  $50 
profit  on  the  week's  work. 

Let  us  assume  that  with  ''Economic"  feeders  the 
production  is  increased  only  20  per  cent.,  though 
there  are  printers  who  testify  to  much  larger  gains. 
This  will  give  us  a  product  of  120,000  impressions  which 
will  sell  for  $180,  a  gain  of  $30.  But  this  is  not  all  the 
gain,  because  the  cost  of  operating  has  been  less.  Instead 
of  the  item  of  $24  for  hand  feeders'  wages,  we  have  an 
item  of  $10  for  a  helper,  to  which  we  must  add  $5  for 
interest,  (calculated  at  10  per  cent.)  on  the  cost  of  the 
feeding  machines.  This  shows  a  saving  of  $9  in  cost, 
or  a  total  of  $91  instead  of  $100  for  the  week's  production. 
Putting  the  result  in  tabular  form  for  easy  understanding, 
we  have — 

Cost  of  operating  two  cylinders  one  week  by 

hand  feeding $100.00 

The  product  of  100,000  impressions  sells  for 150.00 

Profit  by  hand  feeding $50.00 

Cost  of  operating  two  cylinders  one  week  by  machine 

feeding $91.00 

The  product. of  1 20,000  impressions  sells  for 1 80.00 

Profit  by  machine  feeding $89.00 


PAPER-FEEDING   MACHINES.  283 

Thus  it  appears  that  on  only  20  per  cent,  increased 
production  the  profit  is  nearly  doubled.  If  the  increased 
product  be  27  per  cent,  the  profit  is  fully  doubled. 
Think  how  much  this  means  to  the  printer! 

Another  way  of  looking  at  it  is  this:  There  are  2^ 
working  days  in  a  month.  The  printer  who  owns 
'*  EcoNOiMic"  feeders  gains  enough  in  speed  to  free  his 
presses  for  five  or  six  days  in  each  month,  say  a  gain; 
of  70  days  in  the  year,  that  he  can  sell,  and  yet  have 
a  less  cost  than  before.  At  the  very  moderate  price  of 
$12  a  day  for  the  product  of  a  press  this  means  $840 
more  to  be- added  to  his  annual  receipts  if  he  is  clever 
enough  to  find  the  work  for  the  unoccupied  hours. 

The  saving  of  paper  stock  has  not  been  figured  in 
the  above  calculations.  The  feeding  machine  saves  at 
least  five-sixths  to  nine-tenths  of  the  spoilage.  It  is  not 
uncommon  for  the  printer  to  handle  papers  worth  $4  to 
$12  a  ream,  or  to  run  $75  to  $150  worth  of  paper 
through  a  cylinder  in  a  day,  and  in  such  cases  the  saving 
on  the  spoilage  becomes  a  large  consideration.  On  color 
work  the  saving  is  enormous,  as  the  register  with  auto- 
matic feeding  is  simply  absolute,  and  the  loss  by  spoiled 
sheets  practically  nil.  Even  on  cheap  stock  the  automatic 
feeder  will  commonly  save  enough  paper  to  pay  a  large 
interest  on  the  investment. 

We  have  gone  into  this  detail  to  show  the  printer 
that  it  is  not  the  feeder's  wages  saved  that  makes  the 
**  Economic"  paper-feeding  machines  so  profitable,  but 
that  it  is  the  increased  capacity  that  gives  the  real  profit. 
The  press  may  or  may  not  be  run  at  a  faster  belt-speed 
with  the  automatic  feeder,  but  it  runs  continuously,. 
while  the  hand  feeder  is  always  stopping.  With  art, 
automatic  feeder,  when  you  decide  on  the  speed  at  which 


284  PAPER-FEEDING    MACHINES. 

you  will  belt  the  press  you  decide  also  very  nearly  its 
capacity.  With  hand  feeding,  when  you  run  1,700  an 
hour,  you  get  only  1,200  or  1,300  perfect  sheets  an  hour. 
With  the  automatic  feieder  you  get  the  benefit  of  the  1,700 
an  hour  speed. 

There  are  minor  items  of  economy  in  the  use  of  the 
automatic  feeding  machines.  The  press  does  not  run 
idly  to  tripped  impressions,  nor  is  it  stopped  and  started 
nearly  so  often,  so  that  the  wear  and  tear  on  the  machine, 
and  the  charges  for  repairs,  composition  rollers,  and  for 
oil,  etc.,  are  all  reduced  quantities.  These  are  small 
things,  but  they  are  mentioned  here  to  show  that  the 
conditions  are  all  in  favor  of  the  automatic  feeder  as 
opposed  to  hand  feeding. 

Another  way  of  calculating  the  profit  to  be  gained  by 
the  use  of  the  "Economic"  automatic  feeding  machines 
is  this:  A  plant  of  six  large  two-revolution  cylinders 
equipped  with  automatic  feeders  has  the  same  producing 
capacity  as  an  eight-cylinder  plant  without  the  feeders, 
and  the  saving  in  help  with  the  former  is  one  pressman 
and  five  helpers  or  feeders,  which  at  New  York  city 
rates  means  $80  a  week  economy  in  wages.  Add  to 
this  another  $80  for  saving  of  stock,  floor  space,  power 
and  minor  expenses,  and  you  have  a  clear  saving  of 
$8,000  a  year  on  the  plant  of  six  presses  with  automatic 
feeders,  as  opposed  to  the  eight-machine  hand  fed  plant, 
both  plants  being  of  the  same  capacity,  and  supposed 
to  run  with  full  work.  There  is  a  further  advantage  in 
the  six-machine  automatic  feeding  plant,  in  that  if  a  rush 
of  orders  involves  night  labor  at  a  price  and  a  half,  this 
price  and  a  half  has  to  be  paid  to  only  three  pressmen 
and  three  helpers,  instead  of  four  pressmen  and  eight 
helpers,  thus  enabling  the  management  to  do  night  work 


PAPER-FEEDING   MACHINES. 


28s 


profitably,  something  that  seldom  can  be  done  under  the 
old  conditions.  The  machines  not  only  do  not  charge 
any  price  and  a  half,  but  actually  cost  much  less  at  night. 


**  Economic "  Atitomatic  Feeding  Machine  attached  to  Stop-Cylinder 
Press  with  Front  Delivery 

Courtesy  of  E.  C.  Fuller  &  Co. 

as  there  are  no  extra  charges  of  floor  space,  insurance, 
etc.,  to  figure  against  them. 

The  superintendent  of  a  large  establishment  using  the 
"Economic"  paper-feeding  machines  figures  the  savings 
in  this  way:  ''Under  the  old  system  my  cost  was  $10 
per  day  per  cylinder  press,  take  them  big  and  little  as 
they  ran  through  the  plant.     With  the  new  system  my 


286  PAPER-FEEDING    MACHINES. 

cost  is  $9  per  day  per  press.  Under  the  old  system  my 
presses  used  to  earn  $i  i  a  day,  or  $25  a  month  of  profit. 
Under  the  new  system  I  find  my  presses  produce  so 
much  more  that  they  earn  $14  a  day,  or  $125  a  month 
of  profit  each.  The  old  system  yielded  9  per  cent, 
profit  on  the  work  done,  and  15  per  cent,  on  the 
capital  invested.  With  the  automatic  feeders,  and 
plenty  of  work  for  nine  months  in  the  year,  I  make 
35  per  cent,  on  the  work  done,  and  am  making  50 
to  60  per  cent,  on  the  capital,  and  I  can  keep  this 
up  until  my  competitors  all  put  in  feeding  machines, 
when  I  suppose  competition  will  lower  the  rate." 

This  illustrates  the  great  saving  in  profits  possible 
with  automatic  feeders.  When  the  production  is  in- 
creased 30  per  cent,  the  profits  increase  in  a  much 
greater  ratio.  If  present  work  yield  10  per  cent,  profit 
on  the  capital,  an  increased  production  of  10  per  cent, 
means  doubling  the  profit,  or  $2,000  of  profit  where 
before  there  was  but  $1,000.  This  is  the  secret  of  the 
tremendous  growth  of  the  plants  that  employ  the 
'*  Economic  "  feeding  machines. 

Turning  from  the  financial  to  the  practical  side  of 
the  paper-feeding  problem  we  find  many  interesting 
advantages  in  their  use.  Take  the  loading  of  the  paper, 
which  may  be  unpacked  in  the  stock  room  right  on  to 
trucks,  and  piled  up  six  feet  high  or  more,  often 
20,000  sheets  at  a  time.  The  trucks  may  then  be  run 
directly  into  the  feeding  machine,  and  stay  there  until 
the  last  sheet  is  fed,  thus  avoiding  all  rehandling  of  the 
paper  stock.  The  machines  will  feed  anything,  from 
the  flimsiest  of  cheap  news,  or  the  thin  book  paper 
known  as  Bible  paper,  to  cardboard,  and  with  equal 
facility.     They  will  supply  paper  to  cylinder  presses  at 


PAPER-FEEDING   MACHINES.  287 

any  speed  up  to  4.000  an  hour,  and  on  disk  ruling 
machines  have  been  run  at  double  and  triple  that  speed. 
They  permit  the  press  to  be  run  at  its  highest  durable 
speed,  which  is  almost  always  more  than  the  hand 
feeder  can  maintain.  The  mechanism  is  such  that  the 
register  is  absolute  and  unvarying.  The  sheet  of  paper 
is  brought  down  gently  against  the  front  guides  by  the 
propelling  of  tapes,  and  end  register  is  obtained  by  an 
end  gripper,  that  takes  the  paper  anywhere  within  two 
inches,  and  brings  it  to  the  exact  point  desired.  As 
each  sheet  is  handled  in  precisely  the  same  \yay  under 
the  same  conditions,  each  lies  against  the  guides  with 
the  same  pressure,  and  thus  absolute  register  is  secured. 
There  is  a  serious  waste  in  hand  feeding  of  book 
and  magazine  sheets  that  later  go  to  the  folding 
machines,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  hand  feeder  fails 
to  register  all  his  sheets  correctly  in  going  through  the 
press,  and  when  they  come  to  be  fed  to  the  modern 
rapid  drop-roller  folders,  which  use  the  same  margins 
of  the  sheet  as  were  used  on  the  press  for  registry,  the 
inaccuracy  of  the  first  feeding  puts  the  pages  out  of 
centre  at  the  folder,  though  the  folder  be  accurately 
fed.  As  most  folding  machines  are  now  constructed  to 
handle  two  or  four  signatures  at  once,  the  result  of  an 
error  in  feeding  at  the  press  spoils  a  full  sheet  of  two 
or  four  signatures  at  the  folder.  This  form  of  spoilage 
or  loss  is  particularly  noticeable  where  perfecting  presses 
are  used,  for  on  these  the  sheet  always  backs,  whether 
correctly  fed  or  otherwise;  consequently  the  hand  feeder 
knowing  that  the  pressman  cannot  readily  tell  whether 
his  sheets  are  accurately  or  inaccurately  fed,  naturally 
grows  careless,  and  so  allows  a  much  larger  number 
of  sheets  to  go  in  slightly  out  of  register,  thinking  that 


288  PAPER-FEEDING   MACHINES. 

nobody  will  ever  notice  them,  or,  if  they  do,  that  the 
errors  will  not  be  brought  home  to  him.  The  sheets 
then  go  to  the  bindery,  where  the  errors  in  feeding  at 
the  press  result  in  irregular  margins,  which  are  very 
liable  to  get  into  the  books  or  magazines,  and  be  dis- 
covered at  a  later  date,  causing  the  return  of  the  books 
to  the  printer,  to  have  the  signatures  torn  out  and 
replaced,  with  no  end  of  nuisance  and  expense. 

All  this  sort  of  difficulty  is  avoided  by  the  use  of 
the  ''Economic"  feeding  machines  on  both  presses  and 
folders.  They  can  be  relied  upon  to  deliver  the  sheets 
accurately  any  time  and  all  the  time,  and  as  the  sheets 
come  from  the  press  all  alike  there  is  no  loss  or 
wastage  discovered  at  the  folder,  or  worse  yet,  after 
the  sheets  are  bound  up  and  perhaps  delivered  to  the 
customer.  In  color  work,  where  there  are  say  ten  or 
twelve  impressions  on  one  sheet,  as  often  occurs  in 
lithographic  printing,  there  is  sure  to  be  a  delivery  of 
all-perfect  sheets  to  the  customer,  when  "Economic" 
feeding  machines  are  used,  instead  of  a  very  large  per- 
centage of  slightly-out-of-register  sheets,  which  is  usual 
where  the  work  is  hand  fed,  because  the  printer  cannot 
afford  to  throw  them  away.  When  it  comes  to  feeding 
a  thousand  sheets  through  a  press  twelve  times  by 
hand,  the  spoilage  becomes  a  tremendous  item,  as  the 
percentage  of  inaccuracy  is  multiplied  by  twelve.  The 
register  of  the  "Economic"  feeders  being  absolute, 
there  is  no  spoilage  worth  mentioning. 

A  little  reflection  will  show  the  mechanical  reasons 
why  the  automatic  feeder  so  certainly  increases  the 
product  over  hand  feeding.  The  man  feeder  has  to 
stop  once  in  so  many  hundred  sheets  to  put  up  a  new 
lift  of  paper,  and  roll  or  comb  it  out.     This  involves  a 


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290 


PAPER-FEEDING   MACHINES. 


loss  every  time  of  certainly  seventy-tlve  to  one  hundred 
impressions.  Then  he  must  spoil  the  top  and  bottom 
sheet  of  each  lift  by  smutting  in  handling,  and  in 
printing  on  both  sides  that  usually  means  four  sheets 
to  the  lift.  The  average  feeder  requires  to  stop  at  least 
once  on  a  lift,  either  to  comb  out  his  paper  a  little 
more  or  to  turn  down  some  corners,  and  if  the  press 
is  making  good  speed  he  will  trip  the  impression  or 
stop  two  or  three  times  from  other  minor  causes. 
Then  he  will  deliberately  quit  to  get  a  drink  of  water, 
or  to  talk  to  somebody,  or  for  any  one  of  a  score  of 
other  things  that  come  up  many  times  in  the  course  of 
a  day.  In  hand  feeding  there  is  yet  a  farther  loss 
because  of  the  breaking  in  of  new  feeders  occasionally, 
or  the  using  of  substitute  feeders  who  are  not  as  ex- 
pert as  the  regular  hands.  The  automatic  machine 
feeder  overcomes  every  one  of  these  drawbacks.  It 
starts  in  at  the  best  speed  at  which  the  press  is  capa- 
ble, and  keeps  up  the  work  hour  after  hour,  never 
tiring,  never  faltering.  If  the  paper  is  torn  or  faulty  it 
automatically  stops  the  press  and  trips  the  impression, 
so  that  no  damage  results,  and  there  i3  no  more  loss  of 
time  than  there  would  be  if  a  hand  feeder  was  manip- 
ulating paper  not  in  condition  to  be  fed  to  the  press 
— in  fact,  not  so  much,  for  the  hand  feeder  sometimes 
gets  confused  when  his  paper  goes  wrong,  and  lets  the 
press  take  an  impression  on  the  tympan,  where^is  the 
automatic  feeder  trips  the  impression  and  puts  on  the 
brake  with  certainty,  so  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as 
offsetting  on  the  tympan  by  reason  of  skipped  sheets. 
The  great  stack  of  paper  that  can  be  piled  on  the 
"EcoNCMic"  automatic  feeder  at  one  time  not  only 
saves  the  putting  up  of  lifts  as  detailed,  but  renders  it 


PAPER-FEEDING   MACHINES.  29 1 

easy  to  keep  the  press  moving  during  the  entire  nine 
working  hours,  as  the  stockman  can  be  employed  to 
load  up  the  trucks  over  night  so  that  the  stock  is  there 
ready  to  be  operated  upon  the  instant  the  whistle  blows 
for  starting  up  the  power.  The  paper  is  fed  from  the 
top  of  the  pile,  and  although  the  pile  may  be  six  or 
seven  feet  high  and  very  heavy,  yet  it  is  raised  auto- 
matically and  fed  upwards  so  that  the  top  sheet  is 
always  at  the  correct  level. 

Electricity  does  not  interfere  with  the  correct  move- 
ments of  the  paper  in  the  "Economic"  feeding  machines 
because  the  sheets  are  not  combed  out  (a  process  that 
tends  to  gather  electricity)  but  raised  one  by  one  from 
the  pile  and  moved  on  the  air.  The  method  is  largely 
that  of  the  hand  feeder,  except  that  the  labor  of  combing 
out  the  paper  is  saved,  and  the  sheet  is  lifted  at  the  two 
rear  corners  instead  of  the  two  end  corners.  The  hand 
feeder  draws  the  sheets  back  to  get  the  air  under  them, 
and  the  automatic  feeder  lifts  the  corners  and  blows  the 
air  under. 

A  record  of  37,000  sheets  run  without  a  stop  or  hitch 
has  been  made  by  the  ''Economic"  automatic  paper- 
feeding  machine.  This  continuous  smooth  running  is 
obtained  by  a  perfection  of  safety  devices  that  counteract 
the  tendency  to  irregularity  of  action  arising  from  the 
uncertain  condition  of  a  pile  of  unprinted  paper.  These 
feeders  operate  without  any  error  or  uncertainty  as  long 
as  the  paper  is  in  proper  condition,  and  when  the  paper 
is  wrong  for  any  reason  the  machine  is  automatically 
stopped  so  that  the  attendant  can  make  the  paper  right. 
If  two  sheets  are  so  glued  together  that  one  pulls  the 
other  to  the  guides  of  the  press,  a  little  electrical  detector 
discovers  the  added  sheet,  and  throws  mechanism  into 


292  PAPER-FEEDING   MACHINES. 

operation  to  move  the  belt-shifter  and  put  on  the  brake. 
The  same  thing  occurs  when  a  corner  is  turned  down, 
or  when  a  sheet  is  so  torn  or  mussed  that  it  could  not 
go  through  the  press  without  danger  of  getting  on  the 
rollers.  There  is  no  missing  of  sheets  to  offset  the 
tympan. 

It  is  an  inspiring  sight  to  one  not  familiar  with  auto- 
matic feeders  to  go  through  a  large  pressroom  so 
equipped.  The  first  thing  that  strikes  one  is  the  large 
number  of  machines  that  are  running,  and  the  small 
number  of  men  about.  The  force  in  the  pressroom  is 
cut  in  two,  and  even  then  the  men  have  little  to  do.  To 
see  a  great  two-revolution,  or  a  perfecter,  running  steadily 
along  at  high  speed,  and  nobody  paying  any  attention 
to  it,  nobody  near,  is  at  first  a  shock  to  the  printer-visitor, 
who  thinks  that  surely  something  must  go  wrong  with 
the  combination;  but  after  a  while  wonder  gives  place 
to  familiarity  with  the  situation,  and  he  says  to  himself: 
"Well,  that  is  great!  Why  don't  we  have  them  in  our 
place  ?  Certainly  it  doesn't  cost  much  to  do  printing 
when  the  machines  run  themselves." 

Owing  to  simplicity  of  adjustments  and  to  absence 
of  suction  devices  the  ''Economic"  feeding  machines 
are  adapted  to  all  classes  and  grades  of  paper  used  in 
printing.  Various  inventors  have  tried  to  perfect  ma- 
chines to  feed  paper  by  lifting  the  top  sheet  by  suction. 
There  is  always  uncertainty  whether  the  suction  will 
lift  one  or  two  sheets,  and  when  the  weight  or  quality 
of  paper  is  changed  the  suction  also  has  to  be  adjusted 
to  a  nicety  at  great  loss  of  time,  before  it  is  approxi- 
mately right  for  the  changed  paper.  As  a  result  those 
experienced  with  this  class  of  machinery  have  given  up 
suction    as    impractical,  and    it    has    been  entirely    ex- 


PAPER-FEEDING   MACHINES. 


293 


eluded  from  the  mechanism  of  the  "  Economic  "  feeding 
machines. 

There  is  no  grade  of   paper  so  difficult  to  feed  that 
it  cannot  be  handled  better  and  cheaper  by  these   ma- 


**  Economic ''   Automatic   Feeding   Machine   as   applied  to  a  Ruling 

Machine 

Courtesy  of  E.  C.  Fuller  &  Co. 

chines  than  with  hand  feeding.  The  changes  from  one 
size  of  paper  to  another  involve  only  the  shifting  of 
the  buckling  devices  and  blowers,  which  is  about  the 
same  work  as  shifting  the  tapes  on  a  tape-delivery 
press.  When  the  automatic  feeders  were  first  brought 
into  use  it  was  supposed  that  they  were  fitted  only 
for  rather  long  runs,  but  in    practice    it    is    found   that 


294  PAPER-FEEDING   MACHINES. 

users  apply  them  for  all  runs  of  half  a  thousand  or 
more.  In  other  words  the  saving  of  time  and  paper 
in  running  five  hundred  impressions  is  enough  to 
make  it  worth  while  to  adjust  the  automatic  feeder  for 
use.  If  there  is  a  run  of  only  a  hundred  or  so,  and  it 
is  desired  to  dispense  with  the  automatic  feeder  for  that 
job,  it  in  no  way  interferes  with  the  putting  up  of  a 
lift  and  supplying  the  sheets  by  hand. 

The  firms  using  the  "Economic"  automatic  feeding 
machines  have  been  liberal  in  publishing  praises  of 
their  merits.  Very  many  of  them  express  surprise  after 
installing  the  machines  at  the  increase  in  their  product, 
which  is  more  than  they  expected.  It  is  noteworthy 
that  those  who  order  one  or  two  feeders  almost  invari- 
ably order  more  within  a  few  years,  either  because  they 
desire  to  increase  the  output  and  economy  of  their 
remaining  cylinder  presses,  or  because  their  business 
has  grown,  and  demands  more  presses  with  automatic 
feeding  machines. 

It  is  of  interest  in  this  connection  to  note  just  what 
purchasers  and  users  of  the  "Economic"  feeding  ma- 
chines say  about  them.  The  Ladies'  Home  Journal  is 
fed  by  them,  and  the  owners,  The  Curtis  Publishing 
Co.,  in  a  letter  to  E.  C.  Fuller  &  Co.,  say  : 

*'  You  know  how  we  feel  toward  your  machinery,  as  is 
evidenced  by  our  recent  order  for  feeders." 

This  order  was  for  an  additional  eighteen  machines. 
The   Baker-Vawter   Co.,    of   Chicago,    say  : 

"The  register  of  the  work  is  very  much  better  than  hand 
fed  work;  in  fact,  in  this  particular  there  is  no  comparison. 
On  the  point  of  production,  we  find  that  the  proportion  is 
about  seven  to  five;  or,  in  other  words,  if  a  hand  fed  press 
produces  50,000  impressions   in  a   week,  a   machine  fed  press 


PAPER-FEEDING   MACHINES.  295 

on  the  same  class  of  work  will  produce  70,000  impressions  in 
a  week.  We  do  not  see  how  we  could  get  along  without 
them,  either  for  our  presses  or  for  our  ruling  machines." 

On  July  I,    1897,    Ginn   &    Co.,  of  Boston,  wrote  : 

"  We  have  eight  of  our  printing  presses  equipped  with  the 
*  Economic  '  paper-feeding  machines,  and  it  affords  us  pleas- 
ure to  testify  to  the  merit  of  the  machines.  We  regard  them 
as  a  complete  success,  both  on  our  printing  presses  and  fold- 
ing machines.  We  have  found  them  satisfactory  in  every 
way  and  a  great  improvement  over  hand  feeding.  By  their 
use  we  get  a  large  increase  in  production,  better  register, 
and  a  saving  in  labor  and  the  wastage  of  sheets." 

Since  writing  this  Messrs.  Ginn  &  Co.  have  installed 
or  placed  orders  for  a  total  of  thirty-one  **  Economic" 
machines. 

The    well-known    Indianapolis    printer,  William    B. 
Burford,  writes  as  to    his  first  experience   with    one   of 
the  machines: 

"  We  have  had  little  or  no  trouble  since  starting  it,  and 
are  getting  fully  twenty-five  per  cent,  more  product  by  the 
press  than  we  had  at  hand  feeding,  besides  getting  better 
feeding  and  quite  a  saving  in  waste  in  paper." 

At  a  later  date,  he  writes  : 

"We  now  have  four  of  your  'Economic'  feeders  in  our 
establishment,  some  of  which  have  been  running  about  seven 
years,  on  folding  machines,  ruling  machines  and  printing 
presses.  The  last  one  you  put  on  our  Miehle  Pony  has 
worked  without  interruption  for  more  than  a  year,  and  we 
regard  it  as  one  of  the  most  economical  investments  that  we 
have  made.  We  ran  100,000  i-8  sheet,  25x38  dodgers  on 
this  press  a  short  time  ago  in  seven  hours,  working  five  at  a 
time,  with  an  average  speed  of  3,000  per  hour,  and  made 
,  three  changes  in  the  form  within  that  time.  We  consider  the 
feeder  a  money-maker.  We  shall  put  one  of  these  feeders  on 
our  next  fifty-six  inch  press  that  we  add  to  our  plant." 

Perry,  Mason  &  Co.,  of  the  Youth's  Companion, 
Boston,  were  among  the  early  users  of  the  "Economic" 
feeders  for  folding   machines,  and   say  : 

"The  saving  made  by  their  use  is  very  great,  and  we 
should  not  know  what  to  do  without  them." 


I 

J 

I 

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p 


PAPER-FEEDING   MACHINES.  297 

The  S.  S.  McClure  Co.,  wrote   in  September,    1897: 

"We  have  the  'Economic'  feeding  machines  on  both 
folders  and  presses  and  think  them  the  best  on  the  market  as 
to  register,  speed,  and  ease  of  operation." 

Since  that  time  the  McCIure  plant  has  added  thirteen 
more  feeding  machines,  operating  all  its  cylinder  presses 
in  this  way. 

The  firm  of  Berwick  &  Smith,  operating  the  large 
plant  at  Norwood,  Mass.,  wrote  this  when  they  began 
to  use  the  "Economic"  feeders: 

"  The  two  automatic  paper-feeding  machines  attached  to 
two  of  our  presses  have  been  running  continuously  now  for 
over  a  month.  They  have  given  perfect  satisfaction  in  every 
particular." 

The  truth  of  the  last  remark  is  evidenced  by  the 
receipt  of  orders  for  seven  more  feeders  since  the  first 
installment. 

The  Thos.  Knapp  Printing  &  Binding  Co.,  wrote  in 
1897: 

"  We  found  this  machine  of  very  great  service  to  us  during 
the  late  presidential  campaign,  as  we  were  able  to  out-class  any 
of  our  competitors  on  daily  production  of  the  literature  at  that 
time  being  put  out  by  the  Republican  Committee,  this  one 
machine  producing  for  us  over  100,000  sixteen-page  pamphlets 
per  day.  This  work  was  on  light,  cheap  paper,  size  38x50, 
and  the  product  of  this  particular  folding  machine,  if  fed  by 
hand  with  this  large,  flimsy  sheet,  we  calculated  would  not 
have  been  over  two-thirds  of  the  amount,  perhaps  less.  This 
is  only  one  instance  of  what  the  feeding  machine  will  do  when 
you  have  work  for  it." 

Newspaper  offices  find  them  useful,  too.  W.  T.  Baker, 
publisher  of  the  Utica  Saturday  Globe,  writes  concerning 
a  machine  used   by  them  on  a  rapid  drop-roller  folder: 

"The  'Economic'  paper-feeding  machine  which  we  have 
had  in  our  office  for  more  than  a  year,  feeding  seventy-five  sheets 
to  the  minute,  has  given  the  best  of  satisfaction,  and  is  the  wonder 
of  all  who  have  seen  it." 


298  PAPER-FEEDING   MACHINES. 

The  Boorum  &  Pease  Co.,  of  New  York,  write  thus 
to  Messrs.  Fuller  &  Co. : 

"We  now  have  nine  of  your" feeders  in  use  and  find  that 
they  do  all  that  you  claim  for  them." 

And  SO  say  scores  and  hundreds  of  others. 

The  popularity  of  the  feeding  machine  is  evidenced 
by  the  increase  of  the  plants  of  the  Economic  Machine 
Company,  the  manufacturers.  Messrs.  E.  C.  Fuller  & 
Co.,  the  selling  agents,  state  that  the  shops'  in  Hartford, 
Brooklyn  and  New  York,  have  all  been  enlarged  several 
times,  and  that  during  1899  their  capacity  was  increased 
six  fold  to  meet  the  tremendous  demand,  arising  from 
the  fact  that  the  printers  of  the  country  have  been 
awakened  to  the  enormous  advantages  arising  from  the 
use  of  these  machines. 

While  the  descriptions  herein  of  feeding  machines 
have  been  confined  principally  to  their  use  on  cylinder 
presses,  let  none  suppose  that  there  is  any  such  limit 
to  their  employment.  Folding  machines  have  simply 
doubled  and  trebled  in  value  and  usefulness  since  the 
automatic  feeder  was  applied  to  them. 

The  "Economic"  machines  have  been  for  years  in 
successful  use  on  drop-roller  folding  machines,  and  are 
so  employed  in  nearly  all  the  large  book  binderies  as 
well  as  the  magazine  and  periodical  binderies  in  the 
United  States.  On  this  class  of  work  there  is  an  even 
greater  increase  of  speed  than  there  is  on  printing 
presses,  because  the  folders  are  capable  of  more  rapid 
operation.  From  30  to  50  per  cent,  is  the  usual  calcula- 
tion of  the  increased  output  resulting  on  folders  from  the 
attachment  of  the  automatic  feeders.  This  attachment 
is  accomplished  entirely  without  mutilation  of  the  fold- 
ing machine,  and  although   the   feeding   mechanism    is 


PAPER-FEEDING   MACHINES.  299 

not  as  capacious  as  that  usually  connected  with  print- 
ing presses,  yet  they  will  accommodate  from  5,000  to 
15,000  sheets  of  paper  at  one  time.  There  is  a  slight 
gain  in  floor  space,  as  the  feeding  machine  takes  up 
less  room  than  the  hand  feed  table. 

The  most  remarkable  speeds  that  have  been  attained 
with  the  "Economic"  feeders  have  been  on  disk  ruling 
machines.  Only  with  the  automatic  feeders  has  it  been 
possible  to  obtain  the  full  capacity  of  modern  ruling 
machines.  Accurate  work  is  done  on  them  not  un- 
commonly at  as  great  a  speed  as  8,000  an  hour,  and 
in  one  instance  a  speed  record  was  made  of  over 
12,000  in  an  hour,  just  to  see  what  could  be  accom- 
plished. Even  at  this  speed  there  was  no  loss  of 
register,  or  requirement  for  frequent  stoppages,  though 
it  is  faster  than  the  machines  were  designed  to  run. 
The  feeding  machine  is  readily  attached  to  striker  or 
feint  line  ruling  machines,  either  pen  or  disk,  single, 
double  or  quadruple,  and  the  operation  is  so  simple  as 
not  to  require  attention  from  the  ruling  machine  attend- 
ant after  the  paper  is  placed  upon  the  piling  board. 
The  adjustment  is  so  very  easy  that  it  is  economical  to 
use  the  automatic  feed  for  runs  of  only  a  hundred  or 
two  sheets.  From  ten  to  twelve  thousand  sheets  can 
be  placed  upon  the  feeder  at  one  time  when  operating 
with  a  ruling  machine. 

On  calendering  machines  also,  and  several  special 
machines  the  "Economic"  automatic  feeder  has  been 
used  with  marked  success. 

Not  the  least  of  the  advantages  to  be  derived  from 
automatic  feeding  machines  is  the  comparative  immunity 
from  the  strike  nuisance  that  they  insure.  Hand  feeders 
in  the  large  cities   have  shown   a    deplorable  tendency 


300  PAPER-FEEDING   MACHINES. 

to  go  on  Strike  for  more  wages  where  they  find  an 
office  filled  with  rush  work.  The  helpers  and  press- 
men never  strike  in  offices  where  the  automatic  feeders 
are  used,  for  several  reasons.  In  the  first  place,  they 
recognize  that  they  have  light  work  and  soft  jobs, 
which  they  want  to  keep;  in  the  second  place,  so  few 
men  are  required  to  run  a  large  pressroom  so  equipped 
that  the  men  see  readily  how  easy  it  would  be  for  the 
employer  to  fill  their  places,  and  that  they  have  not  the 
strength  of  numbers  that  strikers  have  in  a  hand  feeding 
pressroom;  in  the  third  place,  the  saving  is  so  large 
that  it  is  practical  to  use  well-paid  pressmen,  who  are 
placed  more  for  the  responsibility  than  for  the  actual 
work  that  they  perform,  and  who  are  naturally  too 
well  satisfied  with  their  places  to  make  any  trouble; 
in  the  fourth  place,  the  helpers  do  not  require  any 
special  training  as  do  feeders.  They  have  very  little  to 
do  beyond  handling  rollers  and  occasionally  starting 
the  machine.  In  short,  with  automatic  feeders  the 
principal  work  of  the  pressroom  is  done  by  the  ma- 
chines and  not  by  the  men,  and  machines  happily  do 
not  go  on  strike. 

There  can  no  longer  be  any  question  as  to  the 
preferability  of  the  automatic  machine  for  feeding, 
under  any  and  all  conditions,  and  for  all  classes  of 
work.  Those  firms  that  use  them  first  naturally  will 
make  the  most  money,  while  those  that  wait  until  the 
loss  of  their  work  compels  them  to  put  in  the  machines 
to  meet  the  competition,  will  get  the  small  end  of  the 
profit  in  the  universal  change  just  inaugurating  in  the 
pressrooms  and  binderies  of  the  world. 

Incidentally  it  may  be  of  interest  to  remark  that  the 
''Economic"  automatic  feeding  machines  were  produced 


PAPER-FEEDING   MACHINES.  30I 

and  developed  by  an  expenditure  of  some  $150,000  in 
money,  and  a  measureless  amount  of  patience  and  brain 
matter;  that  they  were  built  by  high-class  mechanics 
under  the  latest  methods,  with  jigs  and  special  tools,  so 
that  all  parts  are  perfectly  duplicated,  making  repairs 
easy  and  inexpensive,  no  expert  work  being  essential 
to  the  fitting  or  attaching  of  a  new  part. 

E.  C.  Fuller  &  Co.,  of  28  Reade  Street,  New  York, 
through  whose  courtesy  the  illustrations  to  this  article 
have  been  obtained,  are  entitled  to  the  major  portion 
of  the  credit  for  having  brought  the  paper-feeding  machine 
to  its  present  standard  of  usefulness  to  the  printer,  and 
for  having  afforded  the  opportunity  to  make  a  profit  in 
many  a  pressroom  that  before  failed  to  show  a  satis- 
factory balance  on  the  right  side  of  the  ledger 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

TIMELY   HINTS. 

The  experience  of  the  gentlemen  whose  contribu- 
tions follow  are  well  worthy  of  careful  reading  by  every 
printer.  They  are  men  who  have  studied  the  business 
end  of  the  printing  business  from  various  points  of  view, 
and  who  have  gleaned  much  knowledge  as  to  why 
many  printing  offices  fail  to  pay  a  profit.  Each  has  his 
own  characteristic  way  of  making  his  points,  and  .each 
has  some  new  thought  worthy  of  attention  and  serious 
consideration,  though  the  consensus  of  opinion  tends 
all  in  the  one  direction — that  practical  common  sense 
methods  are  essential  to  profit  earning. 


302  TIMELY    HINTS. 


.  J.  CLIFF  DANDO, 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 

Aim  to  do  the  best  work.  Be  accommodating. 
Promptness — as  a  policy. 

Do  not  expect  to  get  every  order  in  sight. 

Mind  your  own  business — not  a  competitor's. 

Study  and  determine  your  own  cost — accurately — 
add  a  profit  and  quote  your  price  fearlessly. 

Depend  upon  "  friends "  to  tell  you  when  it  is 
necessary  to  "cut" — "sharks"  will  tell  you  lies. 

If  you  are  positive  as  to  cost,  it  will  enable  you  to 
detect  both  the  friend  and  the  liar — or,  that  your  com- 
petitor is  a  fool. 

With  this  as  a  "backer,"  work  out  your  own 
salvation  and  with  ordinary  horse  sense  in  management 
the  result  should  be — a  profit — even  though  it  is  a 
scarce  article. 

If  you  are  not  positive  as  to  your  cost — quit! 


F.  L.  MONTAGUE, 

NEW    YORK    CITY. 

The  title  of  your  book,  "How  to  Make  Money  in 
the  Printing  Business,"  has  set  many  minds  to  work  to 
best  answer  the  problem,  and  all  undoubtedly  with  the 
desire  to  open  some  "royal  road "  to  accomplish  the 
desirable  object  of  bringing  the  printing  business  into 
line  with  other  manufacturing,  and  on  as  profitable  a 
basis. 


TIMELY    HINTS.  303 

There  is  no  "royal  road  "  to  the  accomplishment  of  your 
problem,  but  it  all  resolves  itself  down  to  increasing  the 
price  for  work  or  reducing  the  cost  of  producing,  or  both. 

In  this  machinery  age,  when  great  advancement  is 
being  made  in  labor-saving  devices  and  the  cost  of 
work  reduced,  it  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  increase 
the  prices ;  but  the  profits  can  be  increased  by  increasing 
the  product  without  increasing  fixed  charges  and  ex- 
penses. 

To  my  mind,  therefore,  the  printer  should  pay  more 
attention  to  increasing  product,  which  in  ninety-nine 
offices  out  of  one  hundred  can  be  done  without  increas- 
ing any  expenses. 

In  other  words — "Modern  Machinery" — is  my  best 
answer. 

Some  printers  declare  they  cannot  stand  over  their 
pressmen  with  a  gun  to  get  the  greatest  product  from 
their  presses  every  day,  but  so  far  as  the  absolute  work 
in  the  printing  office  is  concerned  there  is  nothing  so 
important. 

With  wages  fixed,  rent  not  lessening,  non-producing 
expenses  of  workmen,  foremen,  book-keepers  demanding 
an  increase  in  their  salaries,  insurance  and  other  inci- 
dental expenses  continuing  and  increasing,  the  science 
of  the  printing  trade  is  to  get  an  incre.ased  product  for 
these  fixed  expenses. 

The  printer  can  no  longer  afford  to  pay  rent  and 
labor  on  an  Adams  press,  for  example;  neither  can  he 
afford  to  pay  labor  and  rent  and  cost  of  maintenance 
on  any  obsolete  press  capable  of  producing  only  6,000 
to  7,500  sheets  per  day,  when  his  competitors  turn  out 
from  10,000  to  12,000  per  day  with  no  more  expense 
on  more  modern  machines. 


304  TIMELY   HINTS. 

This  extra  amount  of  sheets  printed,  whatever  the 
price  received  for  it,  represents  a  clear  extra  profit,  and 
on  large  presses,  work  commanding  $2.00  per  thousand 
will  net  an  average  of  from  $5.00  to  $6.00  per  day 
extra  profit,  barring  alone  the  extra  cost  of  ink. 
Multiplied  by  three  hundred  working  days,  it  makes  a 
possible  extra  profit  of  from  $1,500  to  $1,800  per  year; 
and  multiplying  this  again  by  the  number  of  presses 
employed  will  make  a  very  large  extra  profit  for  the 
year. 

To  further  increase  the  product,  the  use  of  indi- 
vidual electric  motors  will  certainly  add  an  average 
of  five  per  cent.  This  is  done  by  the  greater  number 
of  speeds  which  can  be  given  the  press,  making  the 
variation  of  not  more  than  fifty  per  hour,  ranging  all 
the  way  from  800  to  2,000  or  more  per  hour,  so  that 
the  press  can  be  run  at  a  maximum  speed,  depending 
entirely  upon  the  class  of  work  done. 

With  the  use  of  cone  pulleys  the  variation  is  too 
great,  and  many  jobs  are  printed  running  at  the  rate 
of  three  hundred  per  hour  less  than  what  the  job  would 
stand,  and  yet  they  cannot  run  at  a  higher  speed,  as 
the  next  step  on  the  cone  pulleys  would  increase  the 
speed  beyond  what  the  job  would  permit;  and  the 
greatest  usefulness  therefore  of  electric  motors  attached 
individually  to  presses  is  by  means  of  the  numerous 
and  variable  speeds  obtained  to  secure  to  the  printer 
the   maximum  amount  of  product. 

To  still  further  increase  the  product  of  the  press 
comes  automatic  feeding  machines.  Presses  have  been 
made  to  stand  an  increased  speed,  until  they  have  a 
capacity  for  product  which  surpasses  the  ability  or  the 
willingness  of  the  feeders. 


TIMELY    HINTS.  }0^ 

Some  printers  can  get  an  additional  amount  out  of 
their  presses  or  out  of  their  feeders  by  establishing  a 
day's  run  as  a  quid  pro  quo  at  10,000,  and  all  over  that 
run  to  earn  a  premium,  for  the  feeder. 

The  feeding  machine  has  the  advantage  of  feeding 
as  many  sheets  the  last  hour  of  the  day  as  at  the  first 
hour,  and  the  increased  product,  by  means  of  the 
feeder  running  steadily,  is  15  to  25  per  cent. 

Therefore,  to  summarize  as  follows: 

The   use    of  modern   presses    increasing  the 

product  over  old  presses 20  per  cent. 

The    use  of  automatic   feeding  machines  on 

modern   presses   increasing    the    product     20        " 

The  use  of  electric  motors  increasing  product 

estimated 5        " 

Making  a  total,  by  the  use  of  modern  ap- 
pliances of 45  per  cent. 

Let  any  printer  ascertain  his  product  and  let  him 
figure  what  an  increased  product  of  45  per  cent,  would 
mean,  and  there  would  be  no  need  of  his  making  an 
effort  to  increase  prices  provided  he  could  get  work  at 
prevailing  rates. 

Now  this  increase  in  product  of  45  per  cent,  is  ac- 
complished without  adding  a  dollar  to  expense  account 
and  is  therefore  a  clear  increase  in  profits. 

Take  for  example  an  old  press  and  old 
appliances  :  a  fair  run  on  a  large  sheet 
would  be  7,500  per  day;  at  $2.00  per 
thousand,  would  equal $15.00 

Less  for  labor,  rent,  non-producing  expenses,  etc.  10.00 

Leaving  a  net  profit  per   day  of $5.00 

Take   an  increased  product  of  45    per  cent,    or, 

say,  12,000  at  $2.00,  would  equal $24.00 

Less  labor,  rent,  etc.,  the  same   10.00 

Net  profits  per  day $1 2.00 

Increase  in  profits  more  than  double. 


306  TIMELY    HINTS. 

Continue  this  extra  profit  of  $7.00  per  day  into 
three  hundred  working  days  on  every  large 
press,  and  there  is  a  possible  gain  of $2, 100.00 

Therefore,  the  modern  press,  properly  equipped, 
is  capable  of  earning  in  three  hundred  working 
days  ($12  per  day) $3,600,00 

Subject    to     a    discount    of  one-third 

when  press  is  not  running $1,200.00 

Interest  on  investment, wear  and  tear, etc.       400.00    1,60000 

•    Making  net  profits  on  each  modern  press $2,000.00 

On  old  machine,  profit   per  day,  $5.00 

equals  per  year $1 ,500.00 

Less  one-third,  press  standing $500.00 

Interest  on  investment,  wear  and  tear,  etc.     250.00        750.00 

Net  profits $750.00 

Or,  about    one-third   of  what    the     modern 
equipped    plant  will  earn. 

Multiply  this  by  the  number  of  cylinder  presses  in 
the  office  and  you  have  my  solution  to   your  problem. 

At  all  events,  how  can  the  printer  ignore  modern 
machinery  and  modern  appliances  and  continue  on 
with  the  old  obsolete  tools  and  at  the  same  time 
wonder  why  he  cannot  make  his  business  pay  ? 


HENRY  A.  WISE  WOOD 

GENERAL   MANAGER    CAMPBELL    PRINTING    PRESS    &    MFG.    CO. 


"  Typographitis" —  The  Cause  of  its  Spread  and  a  Remedy. 

In  my  opinion  established  printers  have  more  to  fear 
from  competitors  who  are  subsidized  by  the  manufactur- 
ing concerns  from  whom  they  purchase  machinery  and 
supplies  than  from  any  other  single  source.  They  are 
forced   to   compete  with  weak   and   struggling   printers 


TIMELY   HINTS.  307 

who  are   maintained  with  the  very  money  which  they 
have  paid  for  their  machinery  and  material. 

When  a  printer  pays  his  supply  house  in  cash,  both 
he  and  his  supply  house  are  doing  business  on  a  healthy, 
and  the  only  healthy,  basis;  when  the  supply  house  uses 
the  cash  so  received  to  furnish  another  printer  with 
materials  on  the  credit  system  it  breeds  an  unnatural 
competitor  for  the  cash  paying  printer  out  of  the  actual 
cash  which  he  has  paid.  Here  we  have  the  very  germ 
upon  which  the  disease  of  "  Typographitis  "  feeds — the 
credit  system. 

"  Typographitis  "  is  the  term  1  use  to  designate  the 
mania,  which  is  possessed  by  every  journeyman-printer, 
to  run  a  print  shop  ;  and  the  machinery  and  supply 
men,  those  willing  angels  who  take  any  and  all  risks 
to  start  an  office,  mix  the  dope  that  swells  the  journey- 
man into  the  ''employing  printer,"  and  thus  are  the 
unfit  established  and  kept  on  their  feet  by  their  backers, 
the  machinery  and  supply  men,  to  compete  with  those 
printing  concerns  who  pay  cash  for  their  wants  and  must 
therefore  work  at  a  margin  of  profit  sufficient  to  enable 
them  to  meet  their  bills  promptly. 

The  poison  of  the  credit  system  has  so  completely 
permeated  the  printing  business  that  it  has  become  one 
of  the  ragged-edge  industries — an  industry  in  which 
invested  capital  has  no  sufficient  protection,  reputation, 
no  value  reducible  to  dollars  and  cents,  and  in  which 
the  element  of  permanence  is  very  slight.  And  so  long  as 
the  credit  system  continues,  so  long  will  every  established 
printing  house  suffer  from  the  disastrous  competition  of 
the  adventurer,  the  amateur,  and  the  journeyman,  all  of 
whom  now  get  into  the  business,  and  for  the  most 
part  stay  there,  with  the  encouragement  and  support  of 


308  TIMELY   HINTS. 

strong  machinery  and  supply  houses  who  are  seeking 
to  extend  their  own  business  thereby,  forgetful  of  the 
fact  that  in  so  doing  though  its  volume  may  increase, 
yet  the  proportionate  profit  of  their  business  will  grow 
smaller  with  the  advent  of  each  new  concern. 

If  I  were  an  established  printer  and  paid  cash  for 
my  wants  and  had  a  particularly  ugly  competitor — one 
who  seemed  always  able  to  underbid  and  outconcession 
me — I  wouldn't  quarrel  with  him,  not  a  bit  of  it;  I 
should  put  my  finger  on  his  press  builder  and  his  supply 
man  and  they  would  soon  grow  to  see  the  folly  of 
loaning  my  good  money  to  my  competitor  in  the  shape 
of  plant,  supplies,  etc. 

I  am  aware  that  many  good  concerns  who  came  into 
the  business  in  the  manner  described  are  now  established 
and  therefore  beyond  the  need  for  a  paternal  press  builder, 
but  I  am  warranted  in  saying,  that  for  every  concern  so 
starting  that  has  become  a  credit  to  the  industry  there 
have  been  countless  others  who  lived  for  a  little,  or 
continue  now  to  hang  on,  with  no  benefit  to  themselves 
and  yet  at  a  tremendous  cost  to  those  who  had  and 
have  to  withstand  a  competition  from  them  of  the 
deadliest  character. 

Where,  in  this  struggle  to  survive,  the  unfit  printer 
secures  one  job  he  ruins  the  price  of  many  others  upon 
which  he  has  bid,  and  so  the  business  of  many  printers 
about  him  who  are  not  in  his  desperate  straits  may 
be  poisoned  by  his  mere  existence.  Such  a  case  cannot 
be  treated  directly,  for  no  arguments  brought  to  bear 
upon  a  man  so  situated  will  serve  to  alter  the  conditions 
which  surround  him.  But  to  go  to  the  root  of  the 
matter,  his  backers  must  be  found,  and  where  possible, 
made  to  feel  their  responsibility  in  the  premises. 


TIMELY    HINTS.  309 

I  sum  Up  then  with  this:  the  disease  of  printerdom 
is  "  Typographitis;"  the  agents  which  promote  its  spread 
are  press  builders  and  all  supply  men ;  the  remedy  is  to 
watch  the  agents  of  infection  and  hold  them  directly 
responsible  for  the  existence  of  every  unfit  competitor — 
then  will  there  be  no  further  need  for  a  Paul  Nathan  to 
lead  printers  out  of  the  wilderness. 


THE  AMERICAN    PRINTER 

A  Monthly  Magazine  Published  at  150  Nassau  Street,  New  York, 
BY  J.  Clyde  Oswald. 

The  American  Bookmaker  (the  name  under  which 
The  American  Printer  was  originally  published)  was 
founded  in  1885,  by  Howard  Lockwood,  and  for  many 
years  was  conducted  in  the  interests  of  the  book- 
making,  printing  and  binding  trades.  When  Mr.  Lock- 
wood  died  in  1892,  the  ownership  remained  with  Howard 
Lockwood  &  Co.  In  February,  1897,  J.  Clyde  Oswald 
assumed  the  editorship,  and  the  name  was  changed  to 
the  Printer  and  Bookmaker.  At  the  same  time  the 
character  of  the  publication  was  broadened,  the  illus- 
trative features  developed,  and  new  writers  added  to 
the  staff  of  contributors.  The  interests  of  the  printer, 
and  especially  of  the  employing  printer,  were  studied 
and  discussed,  and  soon  became  the  main  theme  of  the 
publication.  In  the  meantime  the  ownership  had  passed 
to  the  Printer  and  Bookmaker  Co.,  and  in  1899,  Mr. 
Oswald  secured  a  controlling  interest,  and  now  issues 
The  American  Printer  as  editor  and  publisher. 

During  the  period  from  1897  to  1900,  there  was  a 
steady   development,    both    in   quantity   and    quality  of 


310  THE    AMERICAN    PRINTER. 

matter  printed;  the  publication  has  doubled  in  thick- 
ness, quadrupled  in  illustrative  features,  and  is  an 
admirable  example  of  the  highest  excellence  in  the  arts 
of  the  printer,  illustrator  and  engraver.  It  has  become 
the  recognized  medium  for  exchange  of  intelligence 
between  the  master  printers  of  America,  and  in  every 
issue  there  may  be  found  from  one  to  half  a  dozen 
contributions  from  printers  and  publishers  of  eminence 
in  the  trade,  evincing  the  interest  they  take  in  this 
method  of  communicating  with  the  craft.  Its  pages 
have  come  to  be  recognized  as  reflecting  the  true  senti- 
ments and  issues  among  the  men  who  make  the  print- 
ing trade  what  it  is.  DeVinne,  Little,  Morehouse,  Hud- 
son, Matthews,  Lee,  Nathan,  Blanchard  and  many  others 
of  equal  prominence,  who  write  for  the  elevation  of  the 
printers'  art  and  the  prosperity  of  the  trade,  are  to 
be  found  among  the  contributors. 

The  departments  include  "Note  and  Comment," 
which  is  virtually  editorial  criticism  of  passing  events. 
Here  are  discussed  existing  issues  and  problems  that 
confront  the  printer  in  his  vocation.  The  utterances  are 
frank  and  outspoken,  seeking  to  give  the  truth  as  the 
editor  sees  it,  unhampered  by  narrow  considerations. 

The  ''Estimating  Department"  is  unique  in  that  it 
seeks  to  educate  the  printer  to  figure  up  and  not  to 
figure  down,  as  has  been  the  general  tendency  of  dis- 
cussions on  estimating.  It  is  an  effort  to  assist  the 
printer  to  the  making  of  better  and  more  profitable 
prices,  to  demonstrate  how  much  work  really  costs, 
and  the  folly  of  price  cutting. 

"Publicity  for  Printers"  deals  with  the  advertising 
side  of  the  printery.  It  has  become  recognized  that  the 
business  of  a    printing   office   can   be   developed   enor- 


THE   AMERICAN    PRINTER.  }  I  I 

mously  by  clever  methods  of  advertising,  and  an  exchange 
of  thought  on  this  subject  is  vigorously  maintained. 
The  department  is  intended  for  the  use  of  the  printer 
who  advertises  and  wants  to  know  how  to  make  it 
pay  more,  and  for  the  printer  who  does  not  know  how, 
but  who  would  advertise  if  he  did  know  how. 

A  considerable  amount  of  space  is  also  devoted  to 
the  interests  of  the  photo-engraver,  electrotyper,  book- 
binder and  trades  allied  to  printing,  and  the  employers 
in  these  callings  mostly  subscribe  for  and  read  The 
American  Printer. 

The  news  of  the  trade  for  the  current  month  is 
always  summarized  or  given  in  such  detail  as  its  impor- 
tance warrants.  The  advertising  pages  contain  announce- 
ments by  all  the  leading  manufacturers  of  printers' 
machinery  and  appliances,  and  of  goods  generally  sold 
to  allied  trades. 

The  subscription  price  of  The  American  Printer  is 
$2  a  year;  on  sale  wherever  printers'  literature  is  sold, 
or  it  may  be  had  of  type-founders  and  supply  houses 
generally. 


ADVANCE  IN  TYPESETTING  MACHINERY. 

A  PRACTICAL  justifying  typesetting  machine  is  the 
"long  felt  want"  of  every  composing-room.  The  day 
for  hand  composition  has  gone  by;  the  three-man  type- 
setting machine  has  proved  too  costly  in  comparison 
with  a  one-operator  machine  for  producing  line-slugs; 
while  the  line  slug  machine  has  proved  unsatisfactory 
for  a  fine  grade  of  work.  The  machine  needed  to  fill 
the  gap  is  a  typesetting  machine  proper,  with  such 
automatic  justification  that  it  can  be  run  at  a  high 
speed  by  one  man. 

The  Empire  Typesetter  has  been  recognized  for  many 
years  as  the  best  machine  for  setting  and  distributing 
foundry  type,  as  it  has  given  all  the  keyboard  speed  that 
the  operator  could  finger,  and  provided  automatic  dis- 
tribution that  did  not  break  the  type.  The  machine 
had  but  one  fault — a  second  operator  was  required  to 
do  the  justification  by  hand.  This  fault  has  been 
entirely  overcome  in  the  one-man  justifying  machine 
which  The  Empire  Machine  Corporation  is  now  offering 
the  printer.  It  is  provided  with  a  justifier  that  is 
simple  and  compact,  and  that  performs  the  whole 
operation  of  automatically  spacing  out  the  line  to 
measure.  The  work  is  done  directly  in  front  of  the 
operator,  where  it  is  under  his  supervision  at  all  stages, 
so  that  every  chance  of  error  or  accident  is  eliminated. 
The  spaces  used  are  solid  or  non-springing,  so  that  the 


ADVANCE   IN   TYPESETTING   MACHlNEilY. 


3n 


composed  matter  is  in  every  respect  the  same  as  hand- 
composed  type  matter,  and  may  be  corrected,  electro- 
typed  or  stereotyped  exactly  the  same  as  hand-set  type. 
For  these  reasons  the  system  of  justification  is  superior 
to  other  systems  now  being  exploited,  as  each  and  all 
of  them  present  some  objection  or  drawback  or  impose 
some  new  condition  involving  difficulty  for  the  printer. 

The  Empire  justifying  typesetting  machine  with 
justifying  attachment  will  produce  more  ems  per  hour 
of  high  class,  perfect  composition  than  any  other 
machine  on  the  market,  and  with  the  labor  of  a  single 
operator.  The  distribution  is  accomplished  by  a  separate 
machine,  two  of  which  can  be  run  by  a  boy  or  appren- 
tice. The  labor  cost  of  operating  the  machine  is  there- 
fore the  lowest  possible.  No  machinist's  attention  is 
required,  as  the  mechanisms  are  all  simple  and  do  not 
readily  get  out  of  order.  There  is  no  question  but 
that  the  mechanical  parts  of  the  Empire  machines  are 
far  simpler  and  more  readily  managed  by  unskilled  labor 
than  those  of  any  other  machine  of  the  sort. 

In  the  first  place,  the  arrangement  of  the  keyboard 
provides  for  rapid  fingering  by  such  a  positioning  of 
the  keys  that  the  more  common  combinations  come  in 
regular  order  from  left  to  right,  thus  enabling  an 
operator  to  finger  several  characters  in  rotation  with 
adjacent  fingers,  almost  as  he  would  strike  them  with 
a  single  pressure.  Rapid  fingering  is  further  assisted 
by  relieving  the  keys  of  heavy  work.  When  the 
operator  depresses  a  key,  the  very  lightest  touch  is 
sufficient,  as  the  key  simply  opens  a  passage  through 
which  a  current  of  compressed  air  rushes  to  force  a 
pusher  that  thrusts  out  the  required  type  from  a 
channel.     The  little  reservoir  of  compressed  air  is  kept 


314  ADVANCE   IN   TYPESETTING   MACHINERY. 

full    by    a    simple    arrangement    resembling    a    bicycle 
pump  driven  by  the  power  applied  to  the  machine. 

When  the  type  is  pushed  out  it  falls  to  place  by 
gravity  down  a  transparent  glass  slide  that  enables  the 
operator  to  see  just  what  is  going  on.  The  striking  of 
a  space-key  causes  a  mechanism  to  insert  the  thin  end 
of  a  wedge  into  the  line.  When  as  much  type  is 
composed  as  will  make  a  line,  a  line-key  is  touched, 
and  the  line  is  at  once  carried  away  to  be  automatic- 
ally spaced,  while  the  composition  proceeds.  The 
method  of  changing  the  wedges  for  spaces  of  the 
proper  justifying  size  is  interesting,  and  takes  place 
within  full  view  of  the  operator,  the  devices  being  of 
the  simplest  character.  The  line  is  first  carried  from 
the  place  of  composition  to  a  stop,  which  engages  the 
projecting  ends  of  the  first  wedge  in  the  line  and  stops 
Its  movement  directly  under  the  discharge  openings  of 
a  space-rack,  which  contains  a  supply  of  spaces  of  the 
different  sizes.  The  temporary  wedge  space-bars  are 
first  pushed  further  through  the  line,  spreading  it  to  its 
full  measure,  and  at  the  same  time  the  space-rack  is 
automatically  moved  until  the  compartment  containing 
spaces  of  the  proper  thickness  to  replace  the  space-bars 
is  brought  directly  over  the  line.  A  plunger  then  pushes 
a  space  down  into  the  line  at  the  same  time  that  the 
wedge  is  withdrawn.  This  operation  is  automatically 
repeated  until  each  wedge  in  the  line  has  been  with- 
drawn and  replaced  by  a  space  of  the  proper  thickness. 
The  machine  itself,  without  any  attention  whatever  from 
the  operator,  always  selects  spaces  of  the  required 
thickness  to  space  out  the  lines  uniformly  and  exactly. 
Everything  is  automatic  and  proceeds  smoothly,  the 
line   being  carried   to    its   final   position   in  the  galley, 


ADVANCE   IN   TYPESETTING   MACHINERY.  315 

Still  within  full  view  and  within  easy  reach  of  the 
operator,  who  can  make  corrections  at  almost  any 
stage    of  the  work,  without  shifting  from    his  position. 

It  is  with  these  simple  mechanisms,  all  arranged 
within  a  small  space,  and  operating  without  intricacy 
or  dependence  upon  electricity  or  complicated  devices, 
that  the  Empire  machine  does  its  work.  It  gives  the 
very  best  product,  founders'  type  of  any  face,  accurately 
set  and  justified  by  one  man,  and  accomplishes  it  with 
less  mechanism  than  any  other  machine.  Because  it 
has  few  parts,  all  operating  directly  and  within  full 
view,  it  becomes  a  practical,  every  day  machine,  the 
sort  that  will  stand  to  its  work  week  in  and  week 
out,  never  baulking  or  requiring  the  services  of  an 
expert  to  keep  it  in  order.  It  is  to  typesetting 
machines  what  the  Gordon  has  been  to  other  job 
presses,  a  success  because  of  its  easy  running  and 
entire  absence  of  causes  for  bothering,  or  pottering 
around  and  putting  in  time  without  receiving  results. 
It  sets  type  all  the  time,  as  many  hours  a  day  as  there 
is  a  man  at  the  keyboard,  causing  no  delays,  and  it 
sets  and  justifies  the  type  as  it  should  be  done. 

The  distributing  part  of  the  Empire  machines  has 
been  vastly  improved  and  brought  up  to  date.  It  now 
unleads  dead  matter  automatically,  and  can  be  run  at 
a  rapid  speed.  The  attendant  has  only  to  pack  the 
dead  type  squarely  on  the  galley,  and  turn  on  the 
power,  and  then  to  carry  away  the  magazines  as  they 
are  filled.  The  face  of  the  type  is  not  submitted  to 
friction  or  any  chance  of  battering  or  injury. 

While  the  Empire  machines  are  made  with  maga- 
zine channels  for  definite  sizes  of  type  bodies,  yet  one 
machine  can  be  made  to   handle   several    sizes,  as  ten 


316  ADVANCE   IN   TYPESETTING   MACHINERY. 

point  and  nine  point,  both  on  a  ten  point  body,  and 
eight  point  with  a  shoulder  for  leading.  In  this  way 
a  considerable  range  is  provided  with  a  single  machine, 
and  with  two  or  more  there  can  be  had  all  the  type 
bodies  likely  to  be  required  in  a  printing  office.  The 
principal  offices  of  The  Empire  Machine  Corporation 
are  at  203  Broadway,  N.  Y. 


PAPER  JOGGERS  AND  ALARM  COUNTERS. 

No  printer  having  a  cylinder  press 
can  afford  to  be  without  a  paper- 
jogger.  The  cost  is  only  $15  to  $20, 
according  to  size,  and  by  evening  up  the  sheets  as 
they  fall  on  the  delivery  table,  it  saves  not  only  the 
time  of  jogging  up  the  paper  by  hand,  but  the  spoil- 
ing of  such  edges  as  protrude  from  the  pile  when  the 
paper  is  not  jogged  up.  If  a  cylinder  press  is  run  all 
day  without  a  jogger,  somebody  must  spend  at  least 
two  hours  to  jog  up  the  sheets  by  hand,  or  there  will  be  a 
loss  of  possibly  a  dollar  in  spoiled  paper.  The  best 
joggers  made  are  those  of  the  pioneers  in  the  business, 
R.  A.  Hart  &  Co.,  42  Lincoln  St.,  Battle  Creek,  Mich. 
They  also  make  counters  at  from  $3  to  $15  each,  with 
alarms^  and  counters  ringing  automatically  at  100  and 
500;  all  of  which  are  money-savers  for  the  printer. 
Their  new  $3  counter  for  small  presses  is  the  best  on 
the  market. 


HOW  DO  YOU  BUY   YOUR  INKS? 

In  an  early  chapter  of  this  book  the  printer  is  urged 
to  see  that  he  buys  to  advantage,  for  carefulness  in 
buying  may  add  quite  as  much  to  a  year's  profits  as 
good  selling.  The  printer  buys  machinery,  type,  paper, 
and  ink — less  ink  than  any  of  the  other  goods,  hence  he 
is  most  apt  to  order  carelessly,  paying  little  attention  to 
what  he  gets  or  what  he  pays. 

Undoubtedly  the  correct  policy  for  the  printer  is  to 
buy  always  the  best  inks  that  his  papers  will  carry,  and 
to  purchase  them  at  the  closest  prices  obtainable;  but 
the  difficulty  in  carrying  out  this  policy  is  that  the 
printer  is  usually  wholly  unable  to  know  the  quality  of 
the  ink  he  buys  until  after  it  is  in  use  and  paid  for. 
He  may  assume  that  6-cent  news  ink  is  better  than 
4-cent,  and  that  one  dollar  book  ink  is  superior  to  50- 
cent  book,  and  yet  he  is  often  liable  to  pay  six  cents  for  the 
inferior  news  and  one  dollar  for  the  inferior  book! 

A  few  years  ago  a  certain  firm  in  a  kindred  line 
decided  to  go  into  the  ink  business,  and  taking  the  name 
of  a  foreman,  which  happened  to  be  similar  to  that  of  an 
ink  manufacturer  of  long  reputation,  proceeded  to  adver- 
tise in  the  most  lavish  manner,  offering  inks  at  very 
moderate  prices.  They  received  orders  almost  by  the 
carload,  from  Maine  to  California,  and  for  a  time  were 
doing  about  one-fourth  of  the  ink  trade  of  the  country. 
But  of  course  such  heavy  advertising  expenses  had  to 
be  paid  for  in  some  way,  and  the  only  way  for  them 
was  to  take  it  out  of  the  quality  of  the  ink,  and  the 
barrels  and  barrels  of  coal  tar  and  cheap  petroleum  that 
went  out  attested  to  their  ability  in  imposing  upon  the 
printer.  Of  course  that  ink  business  collapsed,  but  the 
printing  trade  as  a  whole  should  profit  by  the  lesson, 
which  is  to  buy  only  of  an  ink  house  that  has  the  trade 
and  confidence  of  large  printing  houses,  and  which  does 
not  spend  enormous  sums  in  advertising  its  goods. 


3^8  HOW   DO   YOU   BUY   YOUR   INKS? 

Such  an  ink  house  is  that  of  Philip  Ruxton,  at  290 
Broadway,  New  York.  His  is  a  name  seldom  seen 
upon  the  broad  pages  of  the  trade  press,  because  he 
prefers  to  put  the  cost  of  the  advertising  into  the  inks. 
Upon  his  ledgers  are  to  be  found  the  names  of  some 
of  the  largest  and  most  conservative  printers  in  the 
United  States,  whose  proprietors  have  learned  that  the 
name  Ruxton  in  inks  means  what  Rogers  does  in 
silverware,  being  a  guarantee  that  the  quality  to  fit  the 
price  is  always  given.  They  have  learned  that  a  dollar 
ink  from  Ruxton  has  a  dollar's  worth  of  value  in  it, 
and  so  on  with  every  grade  and  price.  They  do  not 
have  to  haggle  about  prices,  or  to  test  the  quality  of 
every  lot  that  comes  into  the  place.  They  simply 
decide  what  grade  of  inks  they  will  use  on  certain  work 
and  place  the  order  with  Ruxton,  confident  of  the  re- 
sults. This  sort  of  advertising  is  a  slow  kind,  but  it 
is  sure,  and  while  the  Ruxton  inks  are  not  as  well 
known  as  some,  where  they  are  known  they  invariably 
head  the  list. 

Ruxton  inks  are  mixed  on  honor;  he  cannot  afford 
to  mix  them  any  other  way,  because  he  would  ruin 
the  reputation  already  built.  He  sells  inks  in  any  quan- 
tity, for  any  purpose  of  the  printer  or  lithographer, 
from  ounce  tubes  of  colored  inks  to  hogsheads  of  news 
inks,  and  at  all  prices,  just  as  the  customer  orders,  but 
always  with  the  Ruxton  guarantee  that  the  quality  is 
all  that  a  careful  management  will  allow  for  the  price 
charged.  The  printer  who  buys  his  inks  knows  that 
he  is  buying  wisely,  and  avoiding  the  nuisance  of  bar- 
tering to  secure  a  lower  price,  as  the  first  price  rs 
always  the  lowest,  and  invariably  lower  than  he  can 
buy  the  same  grade  of  any  heavily  advertised  inks. 
The  stock  carried  is  always  large,  so  that  prompt  deliv- 
eries are  made.  Every  endeavor  is  made  to  adapt  the 
inks  to  any  special  papers  required  by  the  customer; 
in  fact  the  service  is  intelligent  and  satisfactory  in  every 
way. 


3^9 


PERFECTION  WIRE  STITCHERS. 

These  celebrated  machines,  manufactured  by  The  J. 
D.  Morrison  Co.,  are  in  use  in  printing-offices  and  book- 
binderies  all  over  the  civilized  world,  many  thou- 
sands having  been  sold  in  the  United  States  alone.  No 
office  intending  to  do  binding  can  be  considered  complete 
without  at  least  one  of  these  machines. 

Those  known  as  the  old  style  **  Perfection,"  viz.: 
**A,"  *'C,"  **E,"  *'F,"  "G,"  *'H,"  and  ''No.  7"  are  too 
well  known  to  the  trade  to  need  any  introduction  or 
explanation  here.  However,  within  the  past  few  months 
The  J.  D.  Morrison  Co.  have  placed  on  the  market  their 
line  of  New  Perfection  Stitchers,  Nos.  2,  4,  6,  and  12. 
These  machines  mark  the  highest  development  in  their 
class  yet  attained,  and  as  their  name  implies  are  as 
near  Perfection  as  the  human  mind  can  devise. 

The  capacity  of  these  machines  vary  on  books  or 
pamphlets  from  two  sheets  to  ^-inch;  up  to  i>^-inch 
in  thickness  may  be  stitched.  The  J.  D.  Morrison  Co. 
have  departed  entirely  from  the  traditionary  lines  of 
construction  in  making  these  machines,  and  have  in  each 
of  them  new  patented  spring  roll  feeding  devices,  with 
automatic  adjustment  to  any  size  of  wire,  and  new 
patented  cut-off  and  clinching  apparatus. 

The  forming  and  supporting  devices,  also  patented, 
deserve  special  attention,  as  the  forming  is  done  separ- 
ately, to  save  wear  on  the  supporter,  and  the  supporter 
has  a  backward  motion  which  leaves  the  front  of  the 
machines  entirely  free  to  the  operator. 

The  machines  are  made  so  that  the  parts  are  inter- 
changeable, and  no  change  of  parts  is  required  when 
changing  from  one  size  of  wire  to  another.  Their 
durability  and  small  cost  for  maintenance  is  attested 
by  hundreds  of  the  largest  concerns  in  the  world. 

The  recently  established  English,  French  and  German 
agencies  for  The  J.  D.  Morrison  Co.,  place  them  in  a 
position  to  supply  European  customers  more  directly 
than  heretofore. 

The  J.  D.  Morrison  Co.  are  also  the  largest  dealers  in 
bookbinders'  and  box  makers'  stitching  wire  in  the  United 
States,  and  carry  a  complete  stock  of  all  the  sizes  both 
round  and  flat,  at  their  head  office,  60  Duane  Street, 
New    York    City.     Their   wire  is   guaranteed   in    every 


^20  SUPERIORITY   IN   TYPES. 

particular,  and  some  idea  may  be  had  of  the  extent  of 
this  branch  of  their  business  when  it  is  known  that 
any  ordinary  month's  sales  will  aggregate  four  hundred 
million  (400,000,000)  stitches. 

For   prices   and  all  particulars,  apply  to  them  direct 
at  the  above  address. 


SUPERIORITY  IN  TYPES. 

For  nearly  a  century  the  Old  New  York  Type  Foundry 
has  been  to  the  fore  in  the  typefounding  industry  of 
America,  and  as  Farmer,  Little  &  Co.,  and  later  as  The 
A.  D.  Farmer  &  Son  Typefounding  Company,  it  has 
been  second  to  none.  Among  its  productions  will  be 
found  the  largest  collection  of  body  type  faces  made  by 
any  one  foundry  anywhere.  The  concern  has  been  led 
to  produce  so  great  a  variety  of  body  type  faces,  by  the 
numerous  requests  from  time  to  time  for  special  designs 
for  some  particular  work.  Orders  of  this  sort  came  un- 
solicited because  of  the  exceptional  talents  and  expertness 
of  the  designers  and  punch-cutters  who  have  been  trained 
in  the  service  of  that  foundry.  As  most  of  these  body 
faces  have  been  cut  in  steel  punches,  they  are  the  best  and 
sharpest  known  to  the  printers'  art,  far  outranking  the 
faces  reproduced  by  other  processes.  Owing  to  long  ex- 
perience in  the  making  of  alloys,  this  foundry  has  been 
able  to  produce  a  metal  for  body  type  which  thousands  of 
printers  testify  to  as  outlasting  any  other  type  metal  ever 
offered  them. 

The  display  faces  of  the  Farmer  foundry  are  character- 
ized by  usefulness  and  wearing  quality  rather  than  bizarre 
effects.  All  the  plain  and  more  standard  faces  are  to  be 
found  in  great  variety  in  their  specimen  books.  While 
they  cut  novelties  as  occasion  requires,  they  cater  rather 
to  the  requirements  of  the  every-day  printers  and  pub- 
lishers who  want  serviceable  type. 


THE   BEST   IN    ROLLERS    IS   THE    CHEAPEST.  }2l 

One  of  the  latest  productions  of  seasonable  faces  is  a 
beautiful  series  from  6  to  12-point,  known  as  Old  Style 
No.  40,  d.  signed  for  the  very  best  grade  of  book  and 
magazine  work.  This  is  an  old  style,  distinctive  in 
character,  having  a  condensed  effect  without  much  con- 
densation, and  being  entirely  without  hair-lines  or  unpro- 
tected serifs.  It  is  a  letter  that  will  wear  indefinitely,  and 
retain  its  characteristics  as  it  wears,  instead  of  breaking 
down  and  thickening  as  do  hair-line  characters. 

This  firm  rounds  the  century  mark  in  1904,  and  for 
three  generations  has  enjoyed  a  liberal  patronage  from 
most  of  the  great  printing  and  publishing  houses  of  the 
new  world. 


THE  BEST  IN  ROLLERS  IS  THE  CHEAPEST. 

Good  rollers  are  the  secret  of  good  presswork.  The 
manufacture  of  composition  that  retains  its  life  and  suction 
for  a  long  period  has  been  brought  to  its  highest  perfection 
in  the  largest  establishment  on  the  globe,  that  of  O.  J. 
Maigne,  at  324,  ^26  and  328  Pearl  Street,  New  York.  Mr. 
Maigne,  whose  reputation  is  world-wide  as  a  producer  of 
the  best  article  known  to  the  trade  for  the  operation  of 
printing  presses,  associated  himself  in  1880  with  D.  J. 
Reilly  under  the  firm  name  of  D.  J.  Reilly  &  Co.,  which 
style  was  continued  until  the  death  of  Mr.  Reilly  in  1889. 
Since  that  time  Mr.  Maigne  has  continued  the  business, 
and  has  from  time  to  time  enlarged  the  plant,  until  he  has 
now  the  largest  and  most  complete  establishment  in  the 
world  for  the  production  of  printers'  rollers.  It  is  pro- 
vided with  all  the  latest  and  most  improved  facilities, 
including  tons  of  special  machinery,  such  as  "roller- 
casting  "  machines  and  improved  machinery  required  for 
the  manufacture  of  Printers'  Rollers  of  all  sizes  and  descrip- 
tion, costing  upwards  of  $20,000.  The  capacity  of  the 
plant  is  so  great  that  customers  are  served  in  the  shortest 


}22  SUPERIOR   EXCELLENCE   IN   PLATEN   PRESSWORK. 

possible  time.  The  receiving  of  new  rollers  when  they 
are  wanted  often  doubles  their  value  to  the  printer. 

Mr.  Maigne  also  manufactures  an  article  for  dispersing 
electricity  in  paper,  which  has  achieved  a  marvelous 
success.  There  are  many  imitations  on  the  market,  but 
the  trade  has  concluded  that  IWaigne's  Electric  Annihilator 
is  the  only  production  that  accomplishes  the  desired  effect, 
and  the  sale  of  it  is  exceedingly  large.  Every  printer 
should  keep  it  in  stock,  as  he  can  never  tell  when  the 
electric  nuisance  will  tie  up  one  or  more  of  his  printing 
machines. 

There  has  also  been  added  to  the  business  the  manu- 
facture of  Pressroom  Paste,  which,  although  a  recent 
feature  of  the  establishment,  has  already  attained  a  splendid 
reputation  amongst  printers,  and  a  correspondingly  large 
sale.  Being  put  up  in  several  grades  and  in  packages  of 
all  sizes  it  is  very  convenient. 


SUPERIOR  EXCELLENCE  IN  PLATEN  PRESSWORK. 

There  are  many  printers  who  gaze  respectfully  at  the 
higher  grade  productions  of  printing  presses,  and  who 
admire  them,  but  who  realize  in  a  vague  way  that  they 
cannot  produce  such  results.  Sometimes  they  think  it  is 
their  own  lack  of  experience  in  executing  an  extra  quality 
of  presswork,  whereas  the  chances  are  in  nine  cases  out 
often  that  they  have  not  the  press  that  will  produce  the 
very  best  results.  There  is  only  one  style  of  job  press 
that  gives  the  printer  practically  an  unlimited  amount  of 
ink  distribution  and  an  overplus  of  impressional  power, 
and  that  press  is  the  John  Thomson  Colt's  Armory  ma- 
chine. The  value  of  this  press  to  the  printer  has  simply 
doubled  since  the  halftone  illustration  came  into  common 
use,  for  no  class  of  printing  requires  such  excellence  of 
machinery.  To  do  good  work  from  halftone  plates  there 
must  be  an  entire  absence  of  slur,  as  the  dots  are  some- 
times 1 80  to  the  inch,  and  a  slip  of  even  the  thousandth 


SUPERIOR    EXCELLENCE   IN   PLATEN   PRESSWORK.  }2} 

of  an  inch  not  only  mars  the  effect,  but  fills  up  the  min- 
ute depressions  of  the  plate  with  ink,  so  that  the  work  is 
dauby,  and  frequent  wash-ups  are  required  to  make  it  at 
all  presentable.  A  minute  slur  is  the  rule  rather  than  the 
exception  with  three  out  of  every  four  platen  job  presses. 
On  many  classes  of  work  it  is  not  noticeable,  so  that  the 
printer  thinks  his  machine  is  all  right  until  he  tries  to 
print  halftones,  and  then  he  finds  that  something  is 
wrong,  though  he  often  does  not  know  what  and  blames 
the  photo-engraver  for  making  a  poor  plate.  With  the 
Colt's  Armory  press  the  construction  renders  any  sort  of 
slurring  absolutely  impossible.  It  will  print  any  form  that 
can  be  gotten  into  the  chase,  and  will  give  as  good  ink 
distribution  on  the  corners  of  the  form  as  elsewhere. 
Every  printer  knows  how  poor  is  the  inking  on  the  cor- 
ners of  a  form  inked  by  disk  distribution;  also  that  the 
last  roller  to  pass  over  a  form  on  such  a  press  is  the 
one  that  has  covered  but  a  third  or  a  half  of  the  ink  disk, 
and  so  is  but  half  inked. 

The  Colt's  Armory  system  of  cylinder  distribution  for 
the  ink  is  unexcelled.  The  pressman  can  cut  up  the  ink 
to  the  last  degree,  and  lay  it  equally  on  all  parts  of  the 
form.  The  disk  distribution  does  not  approach  it  in 
quality,  and  even  the  distribution  on  cylinder  presses  is 
inferior  because  of  the  larger  forms  depriving  the  rollers  of 
a  portion  of  the  ink  before  the  whole  form  is  covered,  so 
that  on  difficult  forms  it. is  always  possible  to  tell  by  the 
imperfections  in  inking  which  edge  of  the  sheet  was 
inked  last. 

The  fact  that  the  Colt's  Armory  presses,  which  com- 
mand much  higher  prices  than  the  ordinary  platen  jobbers, 
are  to-day  selling  very  much  faster  than  ever  before  is 
commended  to  the  attention  of  thoughtful  printers. 
Why  are  so  many  preferring  to  pay  twice  as  much  for  one 
machine  as  another  of  the  same  dimensions?  Is  it  not 
that  the  superior  quality  of  the  work  produced  brings 
trade  to  the  printing  office,  and  establishes  reputations  for 
high  grade  printing  ?   A  hundred  or  two  more  dollars  paid 


^24  BUYING   OF   PRINTING   INKS. 

for  a  job  printing  press  means  a  cost  of  but  six  or  twelve 
dollars  a  year  in  added  interest,  and  the  addition  to  tlie 
character  of  the  work  produced  and  the  price  'commanded 
for  the  same  may  be  many  times  as  great. 

In  the  larger  sizes  the  Colt's  Armory  presses  are  often 
employed  for  a  high  grade  of  work,  as  illustrated  book 
pages,  that  would  naturally  go  on  cylinder  machines,  be- 
cause of  the  superior  excellence  of  the  printing  and 
greater  economy  in  handling  small  forms.  For  three- 
color  forms  and  jobs  of  difficult  register  they  are  far  ahead 
of  the  two-revolution  presses.  The  ease  with  which  they 
can  be  adapted  to  embossing,  also  adds  to  their  earning 
capacity.  For  price  list  and  further  particulars,  address 
John  Thomson  Press  Co.,  253  Broadway^  N.  Y. 


BUYING  OF  PRINTING  INKS. 

The  buying  of  printing  inks  is  a  matter  which  requires 
careful  consideration,  especially  as  the  constant  increase 
in  the  speed  of  presses,  and  the  great  difference  in  the 
printing  quality  of  papers,  that  are  apparently  similar, 
necessitate  the  careful  adjustment  of  printing  ink  to  its 
intended  purpose.  Time  was  when  the  master  printer 
bought  the  heaviest  and  stiffest  inks  he  could  obtain, 
with  the  object  of  receiving  a  maximum  amount  of 
color  for  his  money,  and  then  reducing  it  and  manipu- 
lating it  to  suit  himself.  Such  methods  are  impossible 
at  the  present  day.  The  rush  and  hurry  of  existence, 
especially  in  the  printing  business,  would  not  allow 
the  waste  of  time  that  would  ensue;  and  in  addition, 
the  new  problems  that  daily  arise  require  the  services 
of  a  specialist  to  solve  them. 


BUYING  OF   PRINTING   INKS.  }2^ 

Therefore,  it  has  come  about  that  to-day  inks  are 
bought  more  than  ever  upon  confidence  in  the  ink 
maker,  and  it  is  well  for  a  printer  to  place  his  orders 
for  inks  with  a  manufacturer  who  has  never  taken 
advantage  of  his  confidence. 

The  manufacture  of  Ullman's  Inks  is  based  on  the 
experience  of  the  past  and  the  progressiveness  of  the 
present.  The  reputation  of  Ullman's  Inks  during  the 
past  thirty  years  for  high  quality  is  sustained  and  aug- 
mented by  the  facilities  of  a  new  plant,  equipped  with 
the  most  modern  machinery  and  appliances. 

The  prices  of  Ullman's  Inks  are  made  in  strict 
accordance  with  the  lowest  possible  cost  of  production 
and  legitimate  profits.  Ullman's  Inks  are  made  to  suit 
their  intended  purpose,  and  no  extra  charge  is  made 
for  knowing  how  to  do  it. 

For  the  convenience  of  New  York  City  trade,  a 
downtown  branch  has  just  been  opened  at  2}  Frank- 
fort Street,  where  the  Sigmund  Ullman  Company  will 
be  pleased  to  receive  friends  and  patrons.  The  model 
factory  of  the  Sigmynd  Ullman  Company  is  situated 
at  146th  Street  and  Park  Avenue,  and  is  open  for  in- 
spection at  any  time  to  those  interested. 


WESEL   SPECIALTIES   FOR   BETTER-CLASS 
PRINTING  OFFICES. 

The  average  dealer  in  printing  appliances  sells  a  line  to 
meet  the  strictly  average  requirements  of  the  general 
printer.  There  is  one  house — Wesel's — that  has  built  up 
a  world-wide  trade  with  the  larger  printing  establishments 


^26  WESEL   SPECIALTIES. 

by  catering  to  their  very  special  requirements.  The  house 
of  Wesel  makes  a  complete  line  of  printing  materials  in 
wood,  brass,  steel  and  iron,  and  a  complete  line  of  ma- 
chinery for  electrotypers,  stereotypers  and  photo-engravers ; 
and  a  few  special  machines  for  bookbinders,  but  we  here 
invite  attention  to  some  few  of  the  Wesel  specialties, 
which  have  resulted  in  great  economies  to  the  printer. 

The  Wesel  Patent  Iron  Grooved  Block  for  holding 
plates  on  the  press,  is  now  in  use  by  most  of  the  larger 
establishments  which  print  from  plates,  and  it  is  confi- 
dently predicted  that  it  will  supersede  all  other  styles  of 
blocks.  It  has  won  this  encomium  from  Mr.  Oscar  W. 
Brady,  superintendent  of  the  printing  department  of  the 
McClure  (Magazine)  Co.,  in  an  address  before  the  New 
York  Typothetae: 

"  There  is  now  a  block  on  the  market  which  covers  the  en- 
tire bed  of  the  press,  and  accorrjmodates  any  size  of  plate, 
and  enables  you  to  take  off  or  put  on  any  plate  in  the  form, 
and  register  it  exactly  without  disturbing  any  other  plate  on  the 
press.  Furniture  used  for  locking  up  the  forms  is  bound  to 
shrink  and  swell  according  to  the  weather,  thus  throwing  the 
forms  out  of  register  and  causing  them  to  spring  in  the  centre. 
This  block  not  only  gives  perfect  register,  but  being  solid  and  hav- 
ing no  spring,  it  has  a  great  advantage  in  regard  to  the  wearing  of 
the  plates.  In  three-color  work  alone  this  advantage  is  well 
worth  all  the  block  costs." 

The  Wesel  Self-Inking  Proof-Presses  which  print  from 
the  web  (or  roll),  or  from  flat  papers,  will  turn  out  more 
than  five  times  the  quantity  of  perfect  proofs  than  can  be 
produced  by  the  ordinary  galley  proof-press,  to  which  it 
is  as  far  in  advance  as  a  web  perfecting  press  is  to  a  hand 
press.  The  ordinary  galley  proof-press  is  uneconomical 
in  the  larger  printing  offices. 

The  printer  who  is  interested  in  reducing  wage  expense 
by  improved  labor-saving  appliances,  will  find  the  Wesel 
Machines  for  making  cuts  type  high,  and  for  mortising, 
sawing  and  trimming  metal,  wood  and  brass,  all 
constructed  on  the  most  advanced  principles,  and  all 
moderate  in  price. 


WESEL   SPECIALTIES.  327 

The  printer  who  is  interested  in  reducing  rent  expense 
will  achieve  space-saving  by  using  Wesel  Success  Case 
Stands,  space-saving  galley  cabinets,  galleys  which  are 
self-locking  and  save  not  only  the  side-sticks  and  quoins 
but  the  space  these  ordinarily  occupy. 

The  printer  who  is  reducing  cost  of  production  by 
using  linotype  and  typesetting  machines  will  increase 
savings  by  using  Wesel's  equipments  for  such  offices. 
Linotype  Saw  Tables  with  slot-cutting  attachment  for 
expediting  tabular  work,  special  galleys,  furnaces,  ingot 
moulds,  slug-cutters,  and  a  variety  of  improved  tools. 
Wesel  is  the  inventor  of  beveled  column  rules  to  prevent 
rules  from  working  up  in  linotype  pages. 

The  printer  who  loses  time  in  getting  register  and 
straightening  twisted  forms  through  defective,  inaccurate 
chases  needs  Wesel  Electric-Welded  Chases.  They  cost 
no  more  than  hand-welded  chases.  It  is  not  possible 
to  made  so  good  chases  by  hand-weld.  Wesel  is  the  sole 
owner  of  the  right  to  make  chases  by  electric-welding. 
Wesel  chases  are  stronger,  truer,  and  thus  save  time. 

The  printer  who  can  save  type  and  cost  of  composition 
by  using  stereotype  plates  will  find  Wesel's  Stereotyping 
Machinery  the  most  perfect,  especially  the  Wesel  Cold 
Process  Stereotyping  Outfits,  the  first  practical  outfit 
devised;  there  have  been  amateurish,  unsatisfactory  at- 
tempts— Wesel  has  satisfactorily  solved  all  difficulties,  so 
that  without  injury  to  type  good  plates  can  be  made 
quickly. 

To  sum  up:  F.  Wesel  Manufacturing  Co.,  at  82-84 
Fulton  Street,  New  York,  with  factories  in  Brooklyn, 
makes  and  sells  every  regular  approved  appliance  used  by 
the  printer;  and  in  addition,  supplies  a  line  of  specialties 
as  above  which  are  quick-acting  cost-savers.  **  Wesel 
Quality "  is  synonymous  with  the  best  quality,  and 
if  you  have  not  availed  yourself  of  Wesel's  successes 
you  are  handicapped  in  competition  with  Wesel's 
customers. 


328 


THE   ECONOMY   OF    USING  COPPER-FACED  TYPE. 

A  WHEEL  without  a  tire  is  unfinished — incomplete. 
This  little  iron  band  is  universally  recognized  as  essential 
since  it  presents  a  wearing  resisting  surface  far  more 
durable  than  the  wooden  wheel.  It  is  exactly  this  prin- 
ciple that  applies  to  the  copper-facing  of  type.  The  coat- 
ing of  copper  on  the  face  preserves  the  type  compound 
from  decay  and  presents  a  hard,  unyielding  surface  hav- 
ing double  the  wearing  capacity  of  any  type  compound. 
It  is  impossible  to  alloy  type  metal  with  more  than  the 
minutest  portion  of  a  hard  metal,  which  fact  is  well 
known  to  metallurgists.  As  practical  printers  we  know 
that  an  electrotype  is  superior  to  a  stereotype.  It  is  only 
logical  to  apply  this  well  known  fact  to  copper-facing. 
It  not  only  doubles  the  life  of  type,  but  gives  a  print  that 
is  sharper  and  clearer.  An  office  spending  $200  a  year 
for  new  type  would  save  $100  of  this,  or  $2  a  week,  by 
having  type  copper-faced  when  bought.  A  $50,000 
plant  spending  $3,000  a  year  for  type  uncoppered  would 
save  at  least  $1,500,  which  sum  would  pay  the  interest 
on  half  the  capitalization.  The  cost  of  coppering  is  but  a 
fraction  of  the  first  cost  of  type;  the  letter  only  is  cop- 
pered, without  the  spaces  and  quads,  and  the  result  is 
equivalent  to  buying  double  the  amount  of  type.  The 
Newton  Copper-Facing  Type  Co.,  18  and  20  Rose  Street, 
N.  Y.,  the  patentee,  was  established  in  1851,  and  the 
advantages  of  the  invention  it  controls  may  be  judged 
from  the  fact  that  every  large  daily  from  Maine  to  Cali- 
fornia used  type  copper-faced  by  this  company  when 
printing  from  foundry  cast  type.  For  typesetting  ma- 
chines it  is  absolutely  essential,  if  economy  is  considered. 


MONEY-SAVING    DEVICES.  329 

This  company  has  statements  from  numerous  houses  of 
the  highest  standing,  showing  that  type  copper-faced  has 
often  been  in  service  for  ten,  twenty  and  even  thirty 
years,  and  has  been  subjected  to  milHons  of  impressions. 


MONEY-SAVING  DEVICES. 

It  is  in  saving  many  little  losses  of  time  that  the 
careful  printer  caii  show  a  good  balance  of  profit  at  the 
end  of  a  year.  It  has  been,  conceded  by  those  who  use 
Megiil's  gauge-pins,  gripper-fingers,  feed-guides,  etc.,  that 
they  save  at  least  half  an  hour  a  day  on  a  job  press, 
besides  reducing  the  danger  of  spoiling  paper  through  a 
loss  of  register.  If  you  run  two  job  presses  you  can  save 
a  whole  hour  every  day,  or  300  hours  in  a  year,  and  figur- 
ing this  at  only  twenty-five  cents  an  hour,  that  is  $75  in 
a  year.  It  is  really  more  than  twenty-five  cents  an  hour, 
as  can  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  chapter  on  "Estimating." 
But  if  it  were  only  $25  a  year  thus  saved,  how  penny 
wise  and  pound  foolish  of  the  printer  not  to  supply  his 
job  presses  with  Megiil's  inventions,  the  whole,  assort- 
ment of  which  can  be  had  for  a  few  dollars.  He  makes 
no  less  than  twenty  styles  and  sizes  of  gauge-pins  alone, 
each  one  a  time-saver  on  some  class  of  work;  and  a  whole 
series  of  sizes  and  arrangements  of  gripper-tlngers,  for 
pulling  off  sheets  that  are  difficult  to  handle. 

Mr.  Edward  L.  Megill,  of  60  Duane  Street,  New  York, 
the  inventor  of  these  devices,  is  a  practical  printer,  and 
has  spent  a  lifetime  in  the  study  and  development  of  little 
conveniences  for  platen  job  presses.  He  makes  them  in 
his  own  factory,  and  sells  them  at  nominal  prices.  The 
printer  who  is  not  familiar  with  all  the  styles  should  send 
a  postal  of  inquiry  and  learn.  It  will  save  good  dollars  at 
an  expense  of  cents.  Ten  to  one  you  will  find  that  you 
had  no  conception  of  the  many  conveniences  made  by 
Mr.    Megill.     There  are  the  substantial  steel  gauge-pins. 


330  A   WORD   ABOUT   PRINTING   INKS. 

some  with  spring  tongues  that  greatly  assist  the  feeder; 
also  gauge-pins  with  screw  and  eccentric  adjustments; 
and  gauges  that  may  be  glued  on  like  a  quad,  or 
bolted  in  the  tympan  paper.  Then  there  are  side  gauge- 
pins  that  depress  under  the  gripper  and  permit  it  to  grasp 
the  sheet;  extension  feed-guides  for  sheets  larger  than  the 
platen;  and  gauges  that  do  not  damage  the  tympan,  but 
permit  the  tympan  to  be  used  for  many  jobs  without 
change.  Most  of  these  styles  are  adjustable  by  one  means 
or  another  so  that  they  may  be  set  accurately  to  register. 
The  spring-tongue  gauge-pin  is  suited  to  the  customary 
work  of  the  job  press ;  the  perfect  register  gauge  is  desir- 
able for  fine  color  work. 


A  WORD  ABOUT  PRINTING  INKS. 

The  printer  who  seeks  to  increase  his  yearly  profits  by 
pointers  gleaned  from  this  book  should  not  neglect  con- 
sideration of  the  best  means  to  secure  value  for  the  money 
he  has  to  spend  for  inks.  There  are  many  materials  in 
the  market  the  merit  or  demerit  of  which  cannot  be  deter- 
mined except  by  trial,  among  which  are  chemical  compo- 
sitions, paints,  varnishes  and  inks.  But  of  all  articles  that 
come  under  this  category  probably  printing  inks  are  the 
most  difficult  to  select  as  to  quality  and  probable  results. 

The  ordinary  methods  of  judging  of  compounds  avail 
little  in  the  case  of  printing  ink.  You  cannot  tell  the  value 
by  looking  at  it,  for  a  ten-cent  black  looks  as  black  in  the 
keg  as  a  dollar  black.  The  smell  gives  no  clue,  neither 
the  taste,  were  the  printer  willing  to  daub  his  tongue  in 
the  interest  of  investigation.  Neither  does  the  weight 
lend  any  clue  to  the  character  of  the  ink  under  considera- 


A    WORD    ABOUT   PRINTING    INKS.  33 1 

tion  Some  try  daubing  a  little  with  the  finger  on  the 
paper  on  which  they  consider  applying  it,  but  this  only 
yields  a  close  guess  as  to  the  color,  and  nothing  as  to  the 
other  qualities. 

How,  then,  can  it  be  bought  knowingly,  so  as  to  give 
satisf^ictory  results  to  the  printer  who  uses  it?  Very 
simply.  By  buying  of  a  maker  who  has  proved  that  he 
values  his  reputation,  as  have  the  Fred'k  H.  Levey  Co.,  of 
59  Beekman  St.,  New  York.  If  the  business  of  a  manu- 
facturer has  been  established  over  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
and  he  has  numerous  testimonials  of  the  strongest  char- 
acter, from  literally  hundreds  of  first-class  houses,  is  it  not 
the  best  sort  of  assurance  of  the  absolutely  uniform  char- 
acter and  reliability  of  his  manufactures  ? 

FRED'K  H.  LEVEY,  Pres't.  FRED'K    H.    LEVEY  Co.  ,   . 

CHAS.  E.  NEWTON,  Vice-Prest. 

WM.  s.  BATE,  Sec'y.  59  Beekman  Street,  New  York. 


TYMPALYN   SAVES   MAKE-READY. 

BY    C.    H,    COCHRANE    OF    NEW    YORK 

The  above  is  the  verdict  of  some  of  the  most  eminent 
printers  in  America,  who  have  tested  its  qualities  most 
thoroughly.  The  average  printing  press  is  unproductive 
for  two  or  three  or  four  hours  a  day,  because  forms  are 
being  made  ready.  Tympalyn  not  only  saves  half  o»" 
more  than  half  the  time  of  making-ready,  but  increases 
the  capacity  for  production  of  the  pressroom,  and  affords 
the  printer  a  chance  to  take  more  work,  which  he  can 
do  profitably,  knowing  that  he  will  lose  no  appreciable 
time  in  getting  the  forms  started  on  the  presses. 


-^}2  TYMPALYN    SAVES    MAKE-READY. 

Tympalyn  has  proven  that  there  is  no  need  of  cut- 
ting overlays  in  four  or  five  thicknesses  to  bring  out 
the  shadows  of  a  fine  illustration.  With  this  make- 
ready  blanket  the  contact  between  plates  and  paper  is 
different  from  what  it  is  with  hard  packing,  and  the 
natural  features  of  the  plate  are  automatically  reproduced, 
with  a  result  like  that  of  the  engraver's  proof. 

Tympalyn  is  a  material  in  the  form  of  a  blanket 
composed  of  a  series  of  interlocking  spring  coils,  filled 
with  rubber,  having  an  air  pocket  running  the  entire 
length  to  allow  the  action  of  the  springs.  When  once 
applied  it  becomes  a  part  of  the  press.  On  top  of  this 
is  a  thickness  of  very  hard,  specially  prepared  fibre  or 
pressboard,  which  protects  the  type  or  plates  in  the  same 
way  as  the  hard  packing,  but  does  not  wear  them  by 
pressure  as  does  the  hard  packing.  Over  the  press- 
board  two  or  three  sheets  of  manila  paper  are  stretched, 
to  afford  opportunity  for  patching  up  or  cutting  out, 
only  a  very  little  of  this  being  required. 

A  long  series  of  experiments  were  necessary  before 
Tympalyn  reached  the  perfected  state  in  which  it  is 
offered  to  the  trade.  The  inventor  and  patentee,  Arthur 
S.  Allen  of  Boston,  is  a  practical  printer  of  experience, 
familiar  with  the  niceties  of  presswork,  and  the  refine- 
ments of  the  highest  class  of  printing.  The  spring  coil 
wire  blanket  which  he  has  produced  is  radically  differ- 
ent from  the  old-fashioned  rubber  blanket,  discarded 
by  our  flithers.  The  wire  coils  automatically  search 
out  the  unevennesses  of  the  form,  and  print  them  as  if 
they  presented  a  true  and  level  surface.  It  is  not  claimed 
that  Tympalyn  saves  the  entire  process  of  make-ready, 
but  it  takes  care  of  a-half  to  two-thirds  of  the  work, 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  form.  With  Tympalyn, 
a  few  large  patches  on  the  more  solid  parts  in  the  form, 
and  perhaps  a  few  high  points  cut  out  on  the  tympan, 
are  all  that  are  necessary,  and  these  do  not  require  at 
all  the  accuracy  that  is  requisite  for  hard  packing. 
Sometimes  large  forms  are  made  ready  in  half  an  hour. 


TYMPALYN   SAVES   MAKE-READY.  }}^ 

and  the  more  difficult  class  of  forms,  that  often  take  a 
day  or  two  of  the  time  of  high-priced  men,  working 
on  hard  packing,  are  made  ready  with  Tympalyn  in  a 
few  hours. 

Type  forms  require  scarcely  any  make-ready  where 
Tympalyn  is  used.  In  open  work,  as  tabular  matter, 
poetry,  music,  etc.,  where  under  the  old  system  there 
was  required  a  great  deal  of  patching,  the  use  of  Tym- 
palyn often  enables  the  pressman  to  print  a  nearly 
perfect  impression  at  the  first  trial.  With  halftone 
illustrations,  on  proper  bases,  a  fine  impression  may  be 
had  at  the  first  trial.  If  the  work  is  of  the  highest 
class,  one  (rarely  more)  thin  overlay  is  added  to  the 
darker  parts,  covering  masses  rather  than  detail,  and 
when  this  is  done  the  resultant  printing  cannot  be  dis- 
tinguished by  experts  from  the  best  work  on  hard 
packing  with  four  or  five  thicknesses  of  overlays. 

A  cylinder  covered  with  Tympalyn  does  not  wear 
type  and  plates  nearly  so  much  as  where  hard  packing 
or  rubber  tympans  are  used.  A  round  million  of  im- 
pressions have  been  taken  from  a  form  of  electrotypes 
and  the  plates  at  the  end  of  the  run  showed  no  serious 
wear.  It  is  with  difficulty  that  the  first  sheet  of  a  long 
run  can  be  distinguished  from  the  last,  so  clear  and 
sharp  do  the  plates  remain.  In  the  case  of  a  form  of 
150,000  impressions,  experts  were  able  to  detect  the 
first  sheets  from  the  last  only  by  a  few  trifling  batters 
that  had  been  inflicted  by  the  carelessness  of  the  men 
running  the  form.  The  corners  and  unprotected  edges 
of  the  plates  are  so  completely  protected  by  the  extra 
hard  surface  of  pressboard,  and  the  pressure  of  the 
Tympalyn  is  so  trifling  as  compared  with  the  crushing 
force  of  hard  packing,  that  wear  of  plates  becomes  an 
item  not  worth  figuring  on  at  all  under  the  new 
conditions. 

A  considerable  saving  of  power  also  results  from  the 
use  of  Tympalyn  on  a  cylinder  press.  The  lessening  of 
the   pressure   on   the    press   makes   it   possible   in    most 


334  TYMPALYN   SAVES   MAKE-READY. 

cases  to  speed  the  machine  a  little  faster  without  reach- 
ing the  point  where  the  jar  of  reversing  the  bed  tends 
to  damage  the  life  of  the  machine. 

In  the  nature  of  the  case  it  is  impossible  to  give  an 
exact  estimate  of  the  saving  or  profit  with  Tympalyn, 
but  the  following  may  assist  the  master  printer  who 
desires  to  figure  it :  Suppose  a  cylinder  press  on  which 
the  average  make-ready  under  the  old  system  of  hard 
packing  was  three  hours  a  day,  and  that  with  Tympalyn 
there  is  an  economy  of  one  and  one-half  hours  daily; 
this  is  450  hours  of  producing  capacity  saved,  which 
the  printer  can  sell  at  say,  $1.25  per  hour,  or  $562.50 
per  year,  if  he  knows  how  to  get  the  work.  In  addi- 
tion, his  type  will  last  twice  as  long,  and  his  plates 
withstand  an  indefinite  amount  of  wear,  and  his  bill 
for  power  is  reduced.  This  economy  should  represent 
at  least  $250  a  year  on  a  press  that  is  kept  busy.  So 
that  the  master  printer  may  effect  a  saving  of  $800  a 
year  through  the  use  of  Tympalyn,  without  figuring  at 
all  on  the  increased  speed  that  he  may  be  able  to  apply 
to  his  presses. 

Where  the  runs  are  short,  three  presses  equipped 
with  Tympalyn  will  do  the  work  of  four  with  hard 
packing,  saving  the  price  of  another  press.  The  chances 
are,  however,  that  the  printer  who  equips  entire  with 
Tympalyn  will  soon  find  that  he  requires  more  presses 
rather  than  fewer,  for  Tympalyn  with  its  reduced  cost 
brings  more  trade.  Andrew  Carnegie  is  said  to  have 
acquired  his  wealth  largely  by  his  willingness  to  sacri- 
fice anything  to  secure  the  latest  and  most  improved 
machinery.  He  would  throw  out  the  most  costly 
equipment  only  a  year  or  two  after  installing,  if  he 
were  offered  machines  that  were  ten  per  cent,  better. 
His  profit  was  made,  not  so  much  on  the  saving  of  the 
labor  effected  by  the  new  machines,  as  that  in  this  way 
he  distanced  all  competition,  and  secured  the  trade  of 
the  public. 


TYMPALYN   SAVES   MAKE-READY.  335 

In  the  same  way  the  printers  who  are  the  first  to 
adopt  Tympalyn  will  find  that  the  value  is  even  greater 
in  the  increase  of  trade  and  importance  of  the  printery, 
than  in  the  present  cash  saving,  even  though  that  be 
a  large  item. 

Some  have  thought  that  the  use  of  Tympalyn  was 
disadvantageous  to  the  pressman,  as  taking  away  his 
labor.  This  proves  not  to  be  the  case,  for  where  Tym~ 
palyn  is  used  the  experience  is  that  the  reduction  in 
cost  brings  more  work  to  the  office,  and  there  is  rather 
a  tendency  to  employ  more  help  than  to  discharge.  A 
pressman  who  can  do  the  most  rapid  work  with  Tympalyn 
never  finds  his  wages  reduced  because  the  process  re- 
quires less  skill,  but  on  the  contrary  employers  are  apt 
to  pay  higher  wages  because  they  are  making  more 
money. 

When  firms  like  The  Matthews-NorthrupCo.,  Buffalo; 
Harper  &  Bros.,  New  York;  J.  J.  Little  &  Co.,  New 
York;  American  Book  Co.,  Cincinnati;  Berwick  &  Smith, 
Norwood,  Mass.;  Blumenburg  Press,  New  York;  Rock- 
well &  Churchill,  Boston;  R.  R.  Donnelly  &  Sons  Co., 
Chicago,  etc.,  adopt  Tympalyn  and  are  satisfied  with  re- 
sults secured,  no  further  evidence  seems  required  to  demon- 
strate that  it  is  adapted  to  the  highest  grades  of  work, 
and  that  it  effects  a  large  economy. 

Those  interested  to  read  testimonials,  terms  on  which 
Tympalyn  is  furnished,  etc.,  should  address  The 
Tympalyn  Company,  22-28  High  St  ,  Boston,  Mass. 
Arthur  S.  Allen  is  President,  and  Forrest  E.  Lovejoy„ 
Business  Manager  of  the  Company. 


SCOTT  PRESSES  ARE   MONEY-MAKERS. 

The  employment  of  good  machinery,  that  will  do 
satisfactory  work  year  after  year  with  a  minimum  of 
repairs,  has  much  to  do  with  the  printer's  success  in 
making  a  profit  in  his  business.  The  cylinder  presses 
that  are  the  handiest  to  operate,  on  which  make-ready 
is  easy,  on  which  there  are  no  hitches  or  delays,  and 
which  are  adapted  to  a  wide  range  of  commercial  work, 
are  the  machines  with  which  most  printers  coin  their 
money,  if  they  coin  it  at  all. 

Such  presses  are  those  made  by  Walter  Scott  &  Co., 
of  Piainfield,  N.  J.,  in  a  factory  under  his  personal 
.supervision,  where  every  detail  of  manufacture  has  been 
worked  out  to  the  utmost  accuracy.  Their  two-revolu- 
tion cylinder  machines  are  at  once  the  most  modern, 
the    most   solid,  the   most    scientifically   constructed    of 

any  in  the  market. 
Superior  impres- 
sional  power,  great- 
er distribution,  and 
more  speed  capac- 
ity are  the  three 
claims     made    for 

Scott^s  Two -Revolution  Cylinder  Press»  _      ,  .   ,      ,' 

one  of  which  places 
them  ahead  of  competition.  The  impressional  strength 
is  secured  by  an  interior  bracing  of  the  cylinder-shell, 
giving  a  stiffness  heretofore  unknown  in  such  presses, 
and  necessary  to  oppose  the  unyielding  bed,  which  is 
supported  underneath  in  an  equally  substantial  manner. 
This  solidity  of  construction  in  the  impressional  parts 
reduces  make-ready  to  the  simple  patching  up  or  mak- 
ing level  of  the  form,  there  being  no  "spring"  to  take 
out  of  the  machine. 

The  high  grade  of  ink  distribution  is  secured  partly 
by  the  gearing  of  all  form  and  distribution  rollers  so 
that  they  turn  positively  and  cannot  jump,  and  partly 
by  cutting  the  ink  closely  at  the  fountain  and  laying  it 
on  the  distributers  to  be  completely  cut  up  before  it 
reaches  the  ink  table. 


SCOTT   PRESSES    ARE   MONEY-MAKERS.  337 

The  speed  of  the  Scott  two-revolution  is  due  to  the 
up-to-date  bed  movement,  which  combines  the  sim- 
plicity of  the  old  rack-and-tumbler  driving  with  a  more 
scientific  method  of  reverse,  that  eases  the  bed  at  the 
point  of  jar,  rendering  higher  speed  possible  without 
undue  strain  on  the  machine. 

The  gearing  of  bed  and  cylinder  together  during  the 
entire  impression  insures  absolute  register  and  absence 
of  slur,  while  the  positive  action  of  the  grippers,  firm- 
ness of  the  guides  and  absence  of  jar  assist  perfection 
of  register  in  the  feeding.  The  traveling-roller  delivery, 
depositing  the  sheet,  printed  side  up,  on  a  table  directly 
above  the  fountain,  is  admitted  to  be  the  most  satisfac- 
tory ever  placed  on  a  cylinder  press. 

The  Scott  two-revolutions  will  do  more  work,  do  it 
better,  and  with  less  fuss  and  bother  than  any  other 
presses  of  their  class,  no  matter  what  claims  are  made 
for  them.  They  will  also  outwear  and  outlast  any 
others,  as  is  proven  by  a  long  list  of  testimonials  from 
users  all  over  the  world. 

For  an  extra  heavy  grade  of  difficult  work,  as  three 
color    forms,    etc.,    Walter  Scott   &   Co.    build   a  stop 

cylinder  that  is  about 
a  third  faster  than  any 
other  stop  cylinder  on 
the  market,  the  speed 
being  obtained  by  a 
new  combination  bed 
Scott's  New  Stop  Cylinder.  movement  with  cylin- 

der controlling  device.  Heretofore  stop  cylinders  have 
been  preferred  for  the  finest  work,  because  the  cylinder  when 
at  absolute  rest  permitted  the  most  accurate  seizing  of  the 
sheet  by  the  grippers;  but  the  stop  cylinder  has  been 
fatally  slow,  until  the  Scott  machine  was  brought  out. 
Mr.  Scott  realized  that  to  get  speed  out  of  a  stop 
cylinder  it  was  essential  that  a  most  powerful  and 
heavy  bed  motion  be  employed,  to  take  up  the  strain 
of  sudden  reversal  of  the  bed  and  stoppage  of  the 
cylinder.     He  has  produced  a  mechanism  that  will  carry 


3^8  SCOTT   PRESSES    ARE   MONEY-MAKERS. 

smoothly  shocks  of  reversal  that  would  break  up  any  other 
cylinder  ever  built.  This  press  can  be  speeded  almost 
as  fast  as  a  two-revolution,  and  bears  all  the  minor 
devices  that  have  made  that  so  popular  a  machine.  An 
automatic  slip-sheeting  device  is  also  added,  making  it 
possible  to  slip-sheet  the  work  at  most  trifling  cost. 
This  stop  cylinder  is  also  built  for  lithographic  printing, 
either  from  the  stone  or  aluminum  plate,  and  with 
either  it  is  the  fastest  lithographic  press  on  the  market. 

When  it  comes  to  fast  periodical  printing,  the  Scott 

all-size  rotary  has 
jffiiWiii  Jf^^^fl^fek  proven  one  of  the 

^Sl^KSSSHtUSmmh^^^/SI^^  greatest    money- 

^^ffSlMpBB||jHB|W^B3P^  makers  ever  used  in 
MtKHIKI^^B^^^^^^^^^^ml  printing    office. 

^^^^^^^^^^*^"""'  ■'""'  This  press  is  virtu- 

Scott's  All-Size  Rotary  Web  Press.  ^^^Y  '^^one  in  its  field, 

being  the  only  satis- 
factory machine  offered  the  printer  for  doing  publications 
of  all  sizes  at  a  high  rate  of  speed.  This  machine  brings  to 
the  aid  of  the  large  book  and  job  printer  all  the  speed  and 
economy  that  the  newspaper  publishers  can  get  from 
their  rotary  web  presses.  Every  printer  who  has  work 
for  a  dozen  or  more  cylinders  should  investigate  this 
machine,  and  learn  how  much  more  cheaply  it  will 
execute  the  work  to  which  it  is  adapted. 

The  large  line  and  variety  of  newspaper  web  print- 
ing machines,  both  flat  bed  and  rotary,  made  by  Walter 
Scott  &  Co.  are  too  well  known  to  be  enlarged  upon 
here.  Those  interested  can  secure  catalogues  of  them 
by  writing  to  the  offices  of  the  Company  in  either 
New  York,  Chicago,  Boston,  St.  Louis,  Cincinnati,  or 
London,  or  to  the  factory  at  Plainfield,  N.  J.  A  great 
variety  of  news  and  job  presses  and  of  stereotyping 
machinery  will  also  be  found  in  the  catalogue.  The 
printer  need  only  explain  his  needs  to  this  firm,  and  he 
will  be  shown  the  machinery  best  adapted  to  his 
individual  wants. 


THE    BENEDICT    IMPRINT    ATTESTS  EXCELLENCE 
IN   PLATES. 

The  illustration  is  the  most  attractive  thing  in  the 
printer's  product.  High-class  engraving  enables  the 
printer  not  only  to  please  his  customers  and  thus  hold 
his  trade  at  good  prices,  but  actually  reduces  his  cost  of 
presswork.  Probably  few  printers  in  ordering  engraving 
and  electrotyping  consider  the  saving  obtained  in  the 
pressroom  by  using  the  best  plates.  A  set  of  plates  may 
be  printed  from  again  and  again,  and  if  of  inferior  quality 
may  waste  an  hour  or  two  of  both  press  and  pressman  on 
each  occasion,  and  the  master  printer  may  pay  for  it 
without  noticing  it.  How  much  better  to  have  a  high 
grade  of  plates  for  each  and  every  job,  and  s6  secure  uni- 
formly beautiful  results  that  establish  the  printer's  repu- 
tation, as  well  as  insuring  a  return  of  the  extra  cost 
through  the  saving  of  time  in  the  presswork  ! 

In  placing  orders  for  halftones,  etc.,  the  very  worst 
policy  for  the  printer  is  to  seek  to  get  the  bottom  figure 
per  square  inch.  Should  we  ever  have  heard  of  Michael 
Angelo,  had  he  worked  by  the  square  inch  ?  Perhaps  some 
printer-reader  may  think  the  comparison  far-fetched,  and 
assert  that  the  photo-engraver  is  not  an  artist,  but  simply 
a  reproducer  of  art  by  mechanical  means.  This  is  a  false 
notion.  The  every-day  photograph  reproduced  mechan- 
ically at  a  close  price  per  square  inch,  is  not  art  but 
manufacture;  while  the  high  grade  illustration  calls  not 
only  for  the  very  fullest  technical  knowledge  and  ability, 
but  for  the  real  artistic  sense.     Does  any  printer  imagine 


340 


EXCELLENCE    IN    PLATES. 


that  such  work  as  that  reproduced  herewith  is  turned  out 
mechanically  ?  Benedict's  imprint  is  known  all  over  the 
country  as  attesting  excellence,  and  this'result  is  attained 
only  by  the  most  persistent  and  patient,  as  well  as 
intelligent  and  capable  management. 


Courtesy  of  Geo.  E.  Benedict  &  Co. 

The  printer  who  wants  the  Benedict  class  of  work 
does  best  to  let  the  photographer  work  under  their  ex- 
press direction;  for  when  photographs  are  poorly  toned, 
or  have  solid  colors  or  abrupt  lights  in  the  parts  that 
should  be  nicely  graded,  or  when  negatives  or  tintypes 


.      EXCELLENCE    IN    PLATES.  34 1 

are  offered  as  copy,  the  photo-engraver  is  handicapped  at 
the  start,  and  obliged  to  add  expensive  hand  work  in 
order  to  secure  satisfactory  results. 

When  the  photograph  is  not  all  that  could  be  desired, 
or  when  the  subject  is  ditficult,  the  photo-engraver  finds 
it  necessary  to  resort  to  the  hand  graver,  to  cut  out  high 
lights  ;  he  has  to  restore  the  details  lost  in  the  shades 
or  shadows,  and  yet  he  must  not  let  it  appear  that  a 
graver  has  been  taking  out  material  here  and  there,  for  if 
he  produces  sharp  effects  he  mars  the  softness  so  much 
admired  in  the  halftone.  All  this  calls  for  exceptional 
skill,  judgment  and  artistic  appreciation,  and  it  is  largely 
because  of  the  exceptional  corps  of  expert  retouchers 
trained  in  their  own  establishment,  that  Benedict  &  Co. 
have  achieved  such  a  reputation  for  superiority  in  this 
part  of  the  work. 

In  the  making  of  zinc  etchings,  the  Benedict  ex- 
cellence is  quite  as  noticeable.  The  providing  of  proper 
drawings  has  much  to  do  with  superior  results  in  this 
class  of  engraving.  All  drawings  should  be  made  in 
clear  black  lines  on  clean  white  paper,  and  without  flat 
tints  or  blurred  shadows.  If  Benedict  &  Co.  make  the 
drawings,  as  well  as  the  etchings,  perfection  is  assured, 
for  years  of  experience  in  this  branch  have  enabled  them 
to  build  up  a  stafl"  of  pen  artists  unexcelled  anywhere. 
In  the  old  method  of  wood-engraving,  which  is  still  the 
best  for  illustrating  many  subjects,  particularly  machinery, 
the  best  of  work  is  insured  by  this  firm,  as  they  have 
retained  in  their  employ  some  of  the  most  exceptionally 
expert  of  the  fast-disappearing  generation  of  wood- 
engravers. 

The  less  known  wax  process,  which  is  particularly 
suited  to  geographical  work,  diagrams,  fine  scripts,  in- 
tricate rule  work,  etc.,  is  practiced  at  the  Benedict  plant 
with  success,  as  are  also  several  special  methods  and  pro- 
cesses developed  by  themselves  and  retained  for  the 
improvement  of  their  own  product.  A  large  business  is 
also  transacted  in  steel  and  copper-plate  engraving,  plate- 


34^  EXCELLENCE    IN    PLATES. 

printing  and  stamping,  as  for  the  choicest  wedding  invi- 
tations and  visiting  cards.  Type  printers  desiring  to 
serve  their  customers  with  the  very  best  of  this  class  of 
work,  at  a  rate  that  will  afford  ihem  a  profit,  are  invited 
to  write  for  a  price  list. 

In  order  to  get  the  very  highest  results  from  delicate 
engravings,  the  printer  often  finds  it  necessary  to  do 
the  presswork  from  electrotype  plates,  and  if  these  are 
made  by  Benedict  the  fact  that  the  printing  is  not  done 
from  the  original  is  often  indeterminable,  because  Benedict 
electrotype  plates  are  of  a  quality  seldom  seen  elsewhere. 
In  the  average  electrotype  foundry  the  work  goes  through 
.a  certain  routine  and  takes  its  chances.  If  there  is  a  rush 
of  work  the  depositing  is  cut  short,  and  the  copper  shell 
-allowed  to  "go"  thinner  than  it  should  be,  in  the  expec- 
tation that  the  customer  will  not  notice  it.  If  the  shell  is 
curved  at  the  time  of  backing  (and  it  usually  is)  the  finisher 
may  let  it  pass,  giving  the  customer  a  plate  hollowed  in 
the  center,  or  he  may  decide  to  hammer  it  out,  and  in  so 
doing  he  commonly  batters  or  enlarges  the  fine  dots  or 
any  delicate  shading,  or  broadens  any  sharp  lines  that  are 
on  the  margins  of  the  electro. 

In  the  Benedict  electrotype  none  of  these  things  can 
happen.  The  system  provides  that  every  plate  shall  have 
a  shell  of  standard  thickness,  or  if  it  is  for  a  long  run,  a  still 
greater  thickness,  and  to  prevent  the  up-curving  of  the 
outer  edges  in  the  finished  plate,  all  fine  work  is  under- 
laid in  the  centre  before  going  to  the  moulding  press,  so 
that  when  the  shell  is  made  and  backed  it  is  either 
perfectly  level  or  minutely  lower  on  the  outer  edges. 
Electrotypes  so  made  save  half  the  time  of  the  printer  in 
make-ready  and  are  the  cheapest  as  well  as  the  best. 

Others  may  give  the  printer  good  photo-engraving  and 
electrotyping  some  of  the  time,  but  Benedict  &  Co.,  of 
175-177  Clark  St.,  Chicago,  give  it  to  him  all  the  time, 
and  for  this  reason  number  among  their  customers  firms 
in  every  State  in  the  Union,  as  well  as  in  Canada  and 
Mexico. 


MACHINERY  FOR  ENGRAVERS. 

Some  printers  find  that  they  can,  with  advantage, 
operate  an  engraving  plant  as  an  adjunct  to  their  printing 
business  proper.  This  is  often  the  case  with  printers 
who  make  a  specialty  of  high-class  catalogues,  brochures, 
etc.,  and  who  deem  it  best  to  have  all  branches  of  the 
work  under  their  immediate  supervision  and  control. 
Such  plants  sometimes  fail  to  return  a  profit  because  the 
managers,  while  giving  due  weight  to  the  artistic  side,  fail 
to  comprehend  the  importance  of  the  mechanical  branch. 
Good  machinery  for  mounting  and  blocking  is  as  essential 
to  the  commercial  success  of  an  engraving  plant  as  good 
artists  and  good  cameras.  Badly  mounted  plates  or  delay 
in  turning  them  out,  mean  serious  interruptions  in  the  press- 
room, which  are  always  costly.  The  printer  can  make  no 
greater  mistake  than  to  try  to  run  an  engraving  plant  with 
inferior  tools.  With  the  latest  standard  machines,  such 
as  those  made  by  the  Royles,  of  Paterson^  N.  J.,  handled 
by  a  competent  man,  he  may  get  along  well  enough  and 
avoid  leaks  in  the  blocking  department.  It  is  important, 
too,  to  have  machines  that  are  thoroughly  up-to-date. 
The  mechanical  devices  used  by  engravers  are  much  better 
made,  and  are  of  far  more  importance  now  than  formerly. 
Many  things  that  used  to  be  done  by  hand,  are  now  per- 
formed by  special  machines  which  do  the  work  better  and 
quicker.  The  making  of  lines  around  the  edges  of  half- 
tone plates  illustrates  this.  The  old  practice  was  to  make 
such  lines  either  by  ruling  the  negative  or  cutting  the 
plate  by  hand  with  a  graver.  The  Royles  now  have  a 
machine  that  makes  these  lines  in  a  wide  variety  of  forms 
and  arrangements  at  a  nominal  cost,  and  much  sharper  and 
neater  than  is  practicable  with  hand  work.  It  is  such 
machines  as  these  that  go  to  make  up  a  modern  engraving 
plant,  and  unless  the  printer  can  make  up  his  mind  to  use 
them,  he  will  simply  be  behind  his  neighbors  in  equip- 
ment and  his  work  will  cost  him  more,  and  be  less  finished 
than  theirs. 


USING   ILLUSTRATIONS  TO   INCREASE  PRINTERS' 
PROFITS. 

The  printer  who  fails  to  take  advantage  of  modern 
methods  of  picture-making  to  enhance  his  work  is  behind 
the  times.  The  printer  who  tries  to  handle  his  own 
illustrating,  to  fuss  with  artists,  and  to  serve  as  a  middle- 
man between  the  men  who  draw  and  paint,  and  those 
who  do  the  mechanical  work  of  producing  printing 
plates,  makes  for  himself  an  endless  and  unprofitable 
amount  of  labor,  with  accompanying  dissatisfaction  and 
annoyance.  The  public  of  to-day  expects  illustrations, 
pictorial  matter,  colors,  embossing,  or  something  in  addi- 
tion to  the  cold  type,  before  it  will  be  induced  to  pause 
and  read.  Therefore,  the  printer  who  seeks  to  build  up 
his  trade  is  obliged  to  foster  the  taste  for  pictorial  effect  in 
order  to  attract  and  hold  custom.  Every  book,  every 
magazine,  every  circular,  every  bit  of  printing  that  is 
advertising,  demands  a  picture  of  some  sort.  The  printed 
text  appeals  solely  to  the  brain,  but  the  illustration  catches 
the  eye,  arrests  the  attention,  and  gives  color  to  that 
which  is  otherwise  flat  and  dry. 

But  printing  is  one  trade  and  illustrating  another. 
The  printer  who  seeks  to  effectively  illustrate  his  work 
cannot  do  it  by  purchasing  a  few  odd  cuts  and  sandwiching 
them  in;  he  must  have  good,  effective  illustrating,  or  lose 
trade  to  the  printer  who  secures  better.  Frequently, 
when  he  recognizes  that  superior  engraving  and  designing 
is  wanted  to  satisfy  a  customer,  he  goes  to  the  artist  and 


Illustrations  to  increase  printers'  profits.      345 

has  the  drawings  made  according  to  their  mutual  notions 
of  what  is  most  appHcable  to  the  work.  When  he  takes 
these  drawings  to  the  photo-engraver  he  is  apt  to  be  told 
that  they  are  executed  in  a  way  that  is  hard  to  reproduce 
for  that  particular  work,  under  the  existing  conditions. 
Perhaps  the  artist  has  made  a  wash  drawing,  when  line 
photo-engraving  is  the  best  adapted  for  the  illustration ; 
or  perhaps  he  has  made  a  line  drawing  for  a  work  on 
coated  paper  that  should  have  halftones;  or  perhaps  he 
has  not  worked  up  his  shadows  heavily  enough  to  photo- 
graph well;  or  it  may  be  one  of  a  hundred  other  things  that 
are  always  occurring  when  the  artist  and  engraver  do  not 
work  side  by  side  with  a  mutual  understanding.  Then 
somebody  has  to  pay  an  extra  charge  for  making  over  the 
drawings  so  that  they  will  suit  the  method  of  reproduction 
most  desirable  for  the  job. 

In  these  days-  of  illustrative  excellence  and  unique 
pictorial  effects,  the  above  is  a  common  experience  with 
the  printer  who  undertakes  to  handle  his  own  illustrating. 
The  loss  and  annoyance  incident  to  such  "misfit"  illus- 
trating may  be  entirely  avoided  by  the  printer  who 
decides  at  the  outset  that  he  is  not  an  illustrator,  nor  a 
middleman  between  artists  and  engravers,  but  a  printer, 
and,  that  he  cannot  do  such  work  to  advantage  any  more 
than  he  can  make  rollers  or  cast  type  profitably.  By 
placing  his  illustrating  entirely  in  the  hands  of  F.  A. 
Ringler  Co.,  of  21-23  Barclay  Street,  and  26-28  Park 
Place,  New  York,  he  not  only  secures  the  very  best  and 
most  satisfactory  service  obtainable,  but  actually  saves  in 
cost  as  compared  with  the  uncertain  methods  that  have  been 
discussed.  The  Ringler  Co.  is  the  largest  photo-engraving 
establishment  and  electrotype  foundry  in  the  world. 
They  do  designing,  line  photo-engraving,  halftone  work. 


34^        ILLUSTRATIONS   TO   INCREASE   PRINTERS'    PROFITS. 

wax  engraving,   wood  engraving,  metal   engraving,  die 
sinking  for  embossed  plates,  and  color  plate  engraving, 


Line  Cut— For  Newspaper  Work 

Courtesy  of  F.  A.  Ringler  Co. 

in  fact  anything  and  everything  that  the  printer  requires 
in  the  shape  of  relief  printing  plates. 

They  employ  constantly  a^  large  force  of  artists,  ::killed 


Full-Shaded— For  Medium  Grade  Catalogue  Work 

Courtesy  of  F.  A.  Ringler  Co. 

in  various  lines.  Nearly  all  of  them  have  specialties, 
which  are  at  the  service  of  the  customer.  Whatever  the 
character  of  work  desired,  there  is  always  an  expert  to 


ILLUSTRATIONS   TO    INCREASE    PRINTERS     PROFITS.  347 

perform  it,  and  sometimes  a  drawing  will  pass  through 
three  or  four  hands  in  order  to  receive  the  best  touches 
for  that  part  of  the  work  in  which  each  artist  excels.  In 
this  way  an  excellence  is  arrived  at  that  no  work  from 
single  artists  can  hope  to  equal.  Some  of  the  beautiful 
magazine  covers  made  by  this  firm  owe  their  perfection 
largely  to  the  fact  that  the  color  scheme  was  laid  out  by 


Halftone— For  High-Grade  Catalogue  Work 

"Courtesy  of  F.  A.  Ringler  Co. 

one  expert,  the  figures  drawn  by  another,  the  landscape 
by  a  third,  and  the  lettering  by  a  fourth.  These  artists 
do  nothing  on  the  hit  or  miss  plan.  Before  pen  or  brush 
is  touched,  it  has  been  thoroughly  decided  what  process 
of  reproduction  is  best  adapted  to  the  work  in  hand,  and 
if  the  job  is  to  be  printed  on  coated  paper  or  rough  surfaced 
stock,  or  a  tinted  paper,  that  fact  is  also  taken  into  con- 
sideration. All  the  data  being  known,  it  is  then  concluded 
to  do  the  illustrating  in  halftone,  or  zinc  etching,  or  stip- 
pling, or  by  three-color  process,  and  the  artist  has  his  key 
from  the  outset,  and  labors  in  harmony  with  the  skilled 


34^        ILLUSTRATIONS   TO   INCREASE  PRINTERS'    PROFITS. 

workers  who  will  follow  later  in  the  more  mechanical 
part  of  preparing  the  plate  for  printing. 

When  it  comes  to  the  photo-engraving  part  of  the 
work,  we  all  know  that  there  are  plates  and  plates.  The 
highest  grade  of  excellence  is  attained  only  by  the  Ringler 
method  of  watching  each  detail,  and  performing  it  with 
judgment  and  skill.  No  craft  connected  with  printing 
calls  for  more  ability  and  careful  training  than  does  photo- 
engraving. In  this  establishment  there  has  been  trained 
a  corps  of  men  specially  selected  because  of  their  natural 
gifts,  and  in  many  cases  educated  right  under  the  eye  of 
F.  A.  Ringler  himself,  whose  name  is  synonymous  with 
all  that  is  best  in  illustrating,  and  whose  progressive 
methods,  and  readiness  to  take  hold  of  new  processes  has 
kept  his  plant  in  the  position  of  the  acknowledged  head 
of  the  trade  of  reproducing  illustrations  by  mechanical 
processes.  Wherever  the  photograph  fails  in  any  partic- 
ular, the  mechanical  skill  and  knowledge  of  this  corps  of 
workmen  is  drawn  upon  to  supply  the  deficiency.  It 
may  be  in  touching  up  the  negative,  or  in  judicious  work 
upon  the  photograph,  or  in  cutting  out  high  lights  in  the 
final  plate,  or  in  a  combination  of  all  these  delicate  opera- 
tions. The  best  knowledge  of  how  to  improve  the 
original  is  always  there  for  use,  and  the  printer  who  pat- 
ronizes F.  A.  Ringler  Co.  for  the  entire  work  of  illustrating 
secures  the  entire  benefit  of  such  knowledge,  and  usually 
at  an  actual  saving  in  expenditure,  because  there  is  no 
wasting  of  ammunition,  no  misdirecting  of  effort.  Others 
make  lower  prices  for  specific  portions  of  the  work,  but 
Ringler's  price  proves  the  lowest  in  the  long  run.  Here 
as  elsewhere,  it  is  the  best  that  is  the  cheapest. 

In  giving  work  to  one  engraver,  and  then  taking  his 
plates  to  an  electrotyper  to  be  duplicated,  the  printer  in- 


ILLUSTRATIONS   TO    INCREASE   PRINTERS'   PROFITS.         349 

curs  to  some  extent  the  same  sort  of  trouble  that  arises 
from  trying  to  do  a  middleman's  business  with  artist  and 
photo-engraver.  There  are  misunderstandings,  and  he  is 
always  the  unfortunate  between  the  upper  and  lower 
millstone.  When  the  electrotypes  do  not  print  as  satis- 
factorily as  the  engraver's  proof,  and  he  tries  to  get  at  the 
cause  and  remedy  it,  the  photo-engraver  says  it  is  the 
tault  of  the  electrotyper,  and  the  electrotyper  is  very  sure 
that  it  is  the  photo-engraver's  fault,  the  result  being  no 
satisfaction  and  no  redress.  This  sort  of  trouble  is  entirely 
avoided  by  the  patrons  of  F.  A.  Ringler  Co.  They  give 
their  orders  for  electrotypes  with  the  order  for  the  original 
plates,  and  they  get  duplicates  as  good  as  can  be  made. 
The  fine  vignetting  of  an  original  is  never  found  ham- 
mered down  in  the  electrotype,  as  the  shells  always  are 
made  level  in  the  first  place  or  discarded.  The  tendency 
to  hollow  out,  or  be  low  in  the  centre  and  high  on  the 
edges,  is  entirely  avoided  in  the  best  grades  of  work 
through  a  manipulation  of  the  original  plates  that  pro- 
duces a  slightly  reversed  result,  so  that  the  edges  of  an 
electrotype  that  would  naturally  tend  to  print  too  sharply 
are  perhaps  a  piece  of  newspaper  lower  than  the  solid 
body  of  the  plate.  By  such  refinements  of  excellence  as 
this,  a  vast  amount  of  time  is  saved  the  printer  on  his 
presses,  when  using  Ringler  plates.  If  blocked,  they  are 
sure  to  be  properly  squared,  never  causing  any  rising  of 
leads  or  furniture.  They  require  a  minimum  of  make- 
ready,  probably  cutting  this  time  in  half  as  compared 
with  the  average  plate.  If  they  are  color-plates,  they  in- 
variably register,  which  is  more  than  can  be  said  of  some. 
The  illustrations  of  halftone,  line  and  full-shaded  draw- 
ings that  accompany  this  article  serve  to  show  the  printer 
what  he  can  have  to  set  off  his  work  from  F.  A.  Ringler  Co. 


Courtesy  of  Merganthaler  Linotype  Co. 

THE  MERGANTHALER  LINOTYPE— A  MACHINE  OF 
TO-DAY. 

When  it  is  stated  that  there  are  7,500  linotype 
machines  in  use,  and  that  each  of  these  machines  has  an 
ordinary  producing  capacity  of  30,000  to  50,000  ems  in  a 
day  of  eight  hours,  while  many  of  them  are  run  with  two 
gangs  or  shifts  of  operators,  it  requires  no  special  calculation 
to  arrive  at  the  result  that  this  wonderful  machine  is  doing 
more  composition  than  was  done  on  the  entire  globe 
fifteen  years  ago,  when  it  made  its  first  appearance. 

The  linotype  is  not  a  machine  of  the  future,  but  of  the 
present;  its  records  are  matters  of  value  to  the  printer 
now,  and  not  expectations  of  what  may  profit  him  in 
years  to  come.  The  printer  simply  cannot  afford  to  do 
without  a  machine  that  reduces  his  cost  to  so  small  a 


THE   MERGANTHALER    LINOTYPE.  35 1 

figure,  and  those  printeries  that  have  delayed  investing- 
have  only  invited  more  active  competitors  to  take  their 
work  and  the  profits.  The  keyboard  of  the  linotype  is 
operated  at  rates  ranging  from  7  cents  per  1,000  ems  in: 
small  towns  to  14  cents  in  large  cities,  as  against  25  cents 
to  45  cents  per  1,000  ems  for  hand  labor,  showing  a  sav- 
ing of  more  than  two-thirds  to  the  employer,  while 
allowing  the  operator  to  earn  a  much  greater  wage. 

The  vast  saving  accomplished  by  the  linotype  is  dis- 
tinctively shown  in  the  13th  annual  (1898)  report  by- 
Carroll  D.  Wright,  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Labor.  This 
report  contains  wholly  impartial  summaries  of  compari- 
sons made  between  hand  labor  and  a  great  variety  of 
labor-saving  machines  in  various  industries.  In  his  ex- 
amination into  the  work  of  the  linotype  several  observa- 
tions were  made  as  to  the  time  and  cost  of  composing 
100,000  ems  under  different  conditions.  In  one  instance 
100,000  ems  of  8-point,  book  work,  were  composed  on 
the  linotype  machine  in  17  hours  and  20  minutes,  while 
the  same  work  done  by  hand  occupied  148  hours,  or 
about  eight  and  a  half  times  as  long.  The  labor  cost  by 
machine  was  $4.40  and  by  hand  $41.60  In  another 
instance,  where  the  work  was  on  lo-point,  objectionable 
matter,  that  is  matter  containing  considerable  italic, 
100,000  ems  was  set  on  the  linotype  in  22  hours,  2*^ 
minutes,  and  the  same  by  hand  in  177  "hours,  or  eight 
times  as  long  by  hand.  In  this  latter  case  the  labor  cost 
was  $5.69  by  machine  and  $46  by  hand.  It  should  be 
noted  here  that  these  were  not  speed  tests,  nor  tests 
made  by  parties  interested  to  make  a  showing,  but 
simply  observations  made  by  the  agents  of  the  United 
States  Government  on  actual  commercial  work,  per- 
formed in  the  ordinary  course  of  business,  and  not  laid 
out  for  any  one's  special  convenience.  They  are  results 
that  can  be  had  in  any  printery  where  careful  and  intelli- 
gent operators  are  employed  under  good  management, 
well  paid,  and  supplied  with  good  copy  and  inspired  to 
do  good  work. 


352 


THE   MERGANTHALER   LINOTYPE. 


The  following  table,  showing  averages  in  a  few  news- 
paper offices,  might  be  extended  indefinitely: 

Average  Machine  Records 

MAINTAINED   IN   VARIOUS   OFFICES   IN  THE   UNITED   STATES. 


Offices 


Per  day 


Baltimore,  Md.,  News. 

New  Haven,  Conn.,  Journal  and  Courier. 

St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  News 

Springfield,   Mass.,  Union 

Troy,  N.  Y.,  Times 

Denver,  Col.,  News 

St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  Herald 

Wilmington,  Del,,  News 

Cincinnati,  Ohio,  Times-Star 

Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  Times 

Montgomery,  Ala.,  Advertiser 

Newark,  N.  J.^  Advertiser 

Troy,  N.  Y.,  Press 

Houston,  Tex.,  Post 

San  Antonio,  Tex.,  Express 

Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  Times 

Tacoma,  Wash.,  Leader 

New  Orleans,  La.,  States 

Peoria,  111.,  Transcript 

Concord,  N.  H.,   People  and  Patriot.  .  .  . 

Memphis,  Tenn.,  Scimitar 

Philadelphia,  Pa.,   Record ... 

Denver,  Col.,  Republican 

New  York   Times 

Indianapolis,  Ind.,  Journal 

Baltimore,  Md.,  News 

Fort  Smith,  Ark.,  News  

Washington,   D.  C,  Star 

Cincinnati,  Ohio,  Commercial  Gazette.  . 

St.   Louis,  Mo.,   Chronicle 

Milwaukee,  Wis.,  Journal. 

St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  Gazette 

Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  News 

St.  Louis,   Mo.,  Republic 

Detroit,  Mich  ,  Sun 

St.  Paul,  Minn.,   Pioneer  Press 

Detroit,  Mich.,  Tribune 

Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  Herald 

Detroit,  Mich.,  Free  Press. 

New  Bedford,  Conn.,  Standard 

Springfield,  Mass.,  Union     

New  Haven,  Conn.,  Register. . 

Washington,  D.  C,  Post 

Rochester,  N.  Y.,  Post  and  Express 

Pittsburg,  Pa. ,  Leader 

Meriden,  Conn.,  Republican 


35,000 


35,000 
32,000 
39,000 


36,000 
35,000 


Per  hour 


32,000 
32,000 
40,000 
32  000 


32,000 


35,000 
40,000 


3S,ooo 
40,000 


40,000 


45,000 


40,000 


5,000 

4,000 

4,500 
4,500 

5,200 
4,750 


Hours 


4,200 


4,400 
5,000 
4,500 
4,000 


4,200 
5,000 

5,000 


4,100 

4, '44 
4,0(^o 
4,800 


4,700 

4,200 
5,100 
4,500 

4,500 
4,200 
4,100 
4,000 
4,800 
4,850 


THE    MERGANTHALER    LINOTYPE. 


353 


It  is  interesting  here  to  note  phenomenal  records  as 
indicating  the  possibilities  of  the  machine.  On  June  28, 
1895,  Mr.  G.  W.  Green,  of  the  Boston  Standard,  set  in 
that  office,  from  printed  copy,  13, 130  ems  of  solid  agate, 
\}%  ems  measure,  in  one  hour,  in  the  presence  of  reliable 
witnesses.  The  machine  was  driven  at  a  moderate  in- 
crease above  normal  speed.  Mr.  Green  has  a  record  of 
8,200  ems  per  hour  for  eight  hours. 

In  a  public  competition  in  Philadelphia,  in  the  Times 
office,  Oct.  3,  1899,  W.  H.  Stubs  set  and  corrected  66,61'] 
ems  of  nonpareil  in  six  hours,  while  his  competitor  William 
Duffy  set  55,026  ems  corrected  in  the  same  time.  It 
will  be  seen  that  the  winner's  average  was  slightly  in 
excess  of  1 1,000  per  hour. 

But  it  is  of  more  commercial  interest  to  know  what 
has  been  done  under  normal  conditions,  in  a  well- 
regulated  linotype  composing-room,  and  for  this  purpose 
a  20-days'  record  of  work  in  the  office  of  the  Detroit  Free 
Press  is  subjoined.  The  matter  was  one-fifth  leaded, 
contained  no  display  heads,  and  was  corrected  by  the 
operators : 

RECORD   IN   THOUSANDS   OF   EMS    PER   DAY. 


Days 


Rist 

Wise 

Forney  j  ^'»;^«*« 
Martin  (commci 
Salterbach . . . 
Young  


Averages  . 


59  S6 
01^56 

55|54 
52,52 
54  52 
58  60 


12J13 


6752 

5653 
71  62 


5259 
6060 

7365 

52 


14 


>S  16 


57,53 
5560 

5859 
5456 
4750 
50,7J 


17 


>9 


As  compared  with  typesetting  machines  proper,  that 
is  machines  that  set  and  distribute  ordinary  typefounders' 
type,  the  linotype  has  several  enormous  advantages. 

It  entirely  does  away  with  the  labor  of  distribution. 


554  THE    MERGANTHALER    LINOTYPE. 

It  substitutes  metal  at  5  to  7  cents  a  pound  for  type 
at  about  40  cents  a  pound. 

It  never  runs  out  of  sorts. 

It  gives  a  new  and  sharp  face  at  every  operation. 

It  enables  the  printer  to  keep  matter  standing  at  a 
trifling  cost. 

It  is  the  only  real  "  one-man  "  machine  in  existence. 

It  handles  a  great  variety  of  sizes  and  faces  in  one 
machine. 

In  all  other  machines  there  is  always  required  either 
more  than  one  machine  in  the  combination,  or  more  than 
one  operator,  and  usually  both.  Linotype  results  and 
records  are  produced  by  single  operatives  on  single 
machines,  and  not  by  "teams  "  at  double  the  labor  cost, 
as  on  typesetting  machines. 

Linotype  machines  cost  $3,000  each,  or  say  $300  a 
year  for  interest  and  repairs.  They  are  also  leased  at  $500 
per  year.  Every  machine  is  guaranteed  as  to  workman- 
ship, material  and  capacity  to  produce  7,500  ems  of  solid, 
justified  matter  per  hour.  Before  the  machines  were 
brought  to  their  present  high  state  of  efficiency  it  was 
supposed  that  they  were  only  fitted  for  newspaper  work, 
and  they  have  been  put  into  use  by  nearly  every  large 
newspaper  in  the  world  and  by  hundreds  of  small 
papers. 

Within  the  past  four  or  five  years,  as  details  have 
been  added,  and  the  variety  of  faces  increased  they  are 
being  taken  into  use  by  book  and  job  printers,  and  lino- 
type work  is  now  as  familiar  in  the  pages  of  the  best 
magazines  and  in  books  of  leading  publishers  as  is 
founders'  type.  For  publications  or  books  of  40,000  cir- 
culation or  under,  the  presswork  can  be  done  direct  from 
the  linotype  slugs,  thus  saving  the  cost  of  electrotyping, 
which  would  be  necessary  to  save  the  wear  on  the  type 
were  the  work  done  from  foundry  type.  Where  an 
edition  is  very  large  it  is  practicable  to  make  electrotypes 
and  sterotypes  from  the  slugs  the  same  as  from  type 
forms. 


THE   MERGANTHALER  LINOTYPE.  355 

The  ordinary  keyboard  contains  90  characters,  which 
are  arranged  in  several  different  ways  for  different  classes 
of  work. 

In  machines  provided  with  two-letter  matrices  180 
characters  may  be  set  from  the  same  keyboard.  These 
machines  are  often  termed  "Book  Office  Machines," 
because  italic  or  black  letter  for  headings,  etc.,  is  included 
in  the  extra  characters  thus  obtained.  For  odd  or  peculiar 
characters,  as  on  special  work,  special  matrices  may 
be  had  and  kept  in  sort  boxes  for  introduction  to  the 
line  by  hand,  their  distribution  being  automatically 
effected. 

The  linotype  matter  may  be  rapidly  leaded  by  hand. 
If  all  matter  from  the  machine  is  to  be  leaded,  the  mould 
may  be  adjusted  one  size  larger  than  the  face,  to  produce 
a  "shoulder  "  on  the  slugs.  For  example,  a  6-point  face 
may  be  thus  produced  on  a  7-point  body,  or  a  7-point 
face  on  an  8-point  body. 

The  machines  are  used  with  entire  success  for  mailing 
lists,  lists  of  stockholders,  poll  lists  and  similar  lists, 
which  may  be  set  cheaply,  changed  quickly,  and  left 
standing,  putting  out  of  use  the  mere  cost  of  the  metal. 

Linotype  matter  may  be  set  in  connection  with  cuts 
in  the  same  manner  as  movable  type. 

Papers  having  large  numbers  of  small  "ads"  to  set 
find  that  there  is  a  great  saving  effected  by  the  use  of  the 
machine,  and  a  number  of  machines  are  used  for  this 
purpose  alone,  in  some  cases  setting  the  first  word  or 
line  in  capitals,  and  in  other  cases  with  two-line  initial 
LETTERS,  which  Can  be  speedily  done  with  matrices  set 
into  the  line  by  hand. 

The  machine  is  specially  advantageous  for  cata- 
logues, directories,  etc.,  as  the  solid  lines  may  be  readily 
and  safely  handled.  The  cost  of  type  and  the  need  of 
sorts  are  avoided. 

The  slugs  are  made  of  such  height  as  to  be  used  in 
connection  with  ordinary  type. 

It  should  be  understood  that  by  changing  the  matrices 


^^t>  THE   MERGANTHALER   LINOTYPE. 

and  adjusting  the  mould,  any  machine  produced  by  the 
Company  can  be  adapted  to  produce  any  desired  face  on 
any  desired  body,  the  line  not  exceeding  fwe.  inches  in 
length. 

Owing  to  the  facility  with  which  new  slugs  may  be 
cast  and  inserted,  it  has  been  found,  by  actual  test,  that 
linotype  matter  containing  the  same  defects  may  be 
corrected  much  more  rapidly  than  when  set  in  ordinary 
type.  In  a  test  made  by  William  H.  Rand,  of  Rand  & 
McNally,  the  well  known  publishers,  linotype  matter  was 
corrected  in  twenty-seven  minutes,  while  the  same  correc- 
tions in  type  occupied  one  and  a  half  hours. 

All  machines  are  now  built  on  the  interchangeable 
plan,  so  that  any  desired  part  or  piece  may  be  procured 
quickly  and  cheaply. 

The  company  will  send  an  expert  mechanic  to  erect 
the  machines  and  set  them  in  operation  in  the  office  of 
the  user,  charging  expenses  and  wages. 

For  every  variety  of  work  the  linotype  has  proved  the 
superiority  of  Merganthaler's  plan  of  substituting  the  line 
as  a  unit  in  place  of  Gutenberg's  movable  type,  and  this 
has  brought  about  a  revolution  in  the  printing  business. 
The  reason  why  the  linotype  system  is  adaptable  to  so 
many  variations,  and  accommodates  such  a  broad  range 
of  work,  is  found  in  the  simple  mechanical  fact  that  a 
matrix  may  be  mounted  on  a  body  large  enough  to  be 
handled  conveniently  in  a  machine,  while  the  individual 
types  are  very  difficult  to  handle  mechanically,  owing  to 
their  small  size  and  the  extreme  accuracy  required  of  all 
parts  of  the  machine  and  the  softness  of  the  metal.  Take 
the  matter  of  distribution,  for  instance,  which  is  so  simple 
on  the  linotype  that  the  matrices  simply  slide  into  place 
for  reuse.  In  the  typesetting  machines  each  type  has  to 
be  accurately  nicked  and  made  to  pass  through  wards 
whose  accuracy  is  figured  down  to  the  thousandth  of  an 
inch.  The  distribution  requires  careful  oversight,  as  the 
slightest  batter  or  bit  of  dirt  on  a  type  tends  to  block  the 
machine.     The  justification  is  wholly  automatic  on   the 


THE    MERGANTHALER    LINOTYPE.  3^7 

Merganthaler  linotype  system,  being  effected  by  the  action 
of  simple  wedges,  while  the  typesetting  machines  have 
resorted  to  the  most  complicated  and  cumbrous  devices 
in  trying  to  get  rid  of  the  work  of  hand  justification,  and 
thus  far  without  any  commercial  success. 

In  order  to  run  satisfactorily,  typesetting  machines 
require  to  be  handled  by  two  or  three  men  at  once,  con- 
stituting a  team,  while  the  linotype,  in  offices  where  only 
one  machine  is  used,  is  cared  for  entirely  by  the  operative. 
In  large  plants  it  is  found  best  to  employ  a  machinist  to 
keep  the  machines  up  to  the  highest  efficiency,  and  save 
the  time  of  the  keyboard  operatives,  besides  avoiding 
tinkering  with  the  machines  by  printers  who  may  not 
understand  them. 

The  printer  should  not  allow  himself  to  be  misled  by 
the  persuasive  talk  of  the  promoters  of ' '  coming  machines. " 
These  have  been  coming  for  the  past  twenty  years,  and 
the  printers  who  waited  for  them  have  grown  poor 
while  the  linotype  users  have  grown  rich.  The  linotype 
is  the  only  machine  that  has  come  to  stay.  Those  type- 
setting machines  that  were  sold  to  some  extent  during  the 
past  fifteen  years  are  no  longer  offered  to  the  public,  and 
second-hand  ones  go  begging  at  one-tenth  the  cost  of  the 
linotype,  while  linotypes  continue  to  be  sold  at  the  rate 
of  about  seventy-five  machines  a  month. 

These  are  facts  and  not  froth.  The  linotype  system 
is  the  only  system  of  mechanical  composition  that  ever 
really  saved  the  printer  any  money.  It  saves  because, 
having  overcome  the  complications  and  irregularities  of 
the  earlier  machines,  and  being  perfected  in  its  details,  the 
product  is  composition  of  real  commercial  every  day 
value,  obtained  at  a  minimum  cost.  It  has  introduced 
new  features  and  methods  into  the  composing-room,  and 
it  has  overcome  all  the  prejudices  and  conservatism  that 
at  first  hindered  its  introduction.  It  saves  money,  and 
saves  it  where  the  printer  needs  it  most,  in  the  composing- 
room,  for  that  has  been  a  sink  hole  of  loss  with  most 
printeries.     Now  that  so   many   book  and  job   printers 


3^8  REGARDING    *' CENTURY"    PRESSES. 

are  using  the  machines,  they  are  not  only  getting  all  the 
composition  there  is  going,  but  the  presswork  also,  and 
the  printer  who  defers  putting  in  linotype  machines  finds 
out  that  his  work  is  drifting  away  to  those  who  do  it  by 
modern  methods. 

The  offices  of  the  Merganthaler  Linotype  Co.  are  in 
the  Tribune  Building,  New  York  City.  The  moral  to 
the  man  who  desires  to  know  ''  How  to  Make  Money  in 
the  Printing  Business  "  is  obvious — buy  linotypes. 


AN  EXPERT  OPINION  REGARDING  ''CENTURY" 
PRESSES. 

I  HAVE  been  asked  as  an  expert  mechanic  and  as  a 
printer  to  give  my  opinion  upon  the  "Century"  press, 
and  to  define  the  precise  position  which  this  press  occu- 
pies with  respect  to  the  modern  requirements  of  printing. 

In  a  survey  of  the  advance  made  during  the  past  ten 
years  in  printing  presses  for  the  better  class  of  work, 
two  impovements  stand  out  as  distinct  strides  in  the  con- 
struction of  machinery.  One,  the  invention  of  a  device  to 
secure  a  continuous  gearing  of  the  bed  with  the  cylinder  in 
a  two-revolution  press,  I  believe  to  be  the  most  valuable 
contribution  that  the  printer  has  received  from  the  inventor 
in  the  past  decade.  By  reason  of  this  device  wherever  used 
the  average  of  quality  in  the  work  produced  has  moved  for- 
ward at  a  bound.  Not  only  has  the  gain  been  in  securing  an 
exact  registration,  which  was  theretofore  impossible,  but  in 
ridding  printing  forms  of  the  wiping  action  which  they 
must  suffer  from  a  cylinder  which  is  not  rigidly  geared  up 
with  the  bed  upon  which  they  are  borne. 


I 

G 


}bO  REGARDING    "CENTURY"    PRESSES. 

In  this  latter  connection,  I  have  recently  seen  the  last 
impressions  of  a  run  of  750,000 /row  one  set  of  plates,  and 
when  compared  with  the  first  impressions  hardly  a  trace 
of  wear  was  discernible.  Had  1  not  known  that  the 
machine  upon  which  the  plates  were  used  was  built  with 
continuous  register  gearing  I  could  not  have  believed  such 
a  result  possible,  for  1  have  never  before  seen  plates  of  the 
same  character  stand  up  for  more  than  200,000  impressions. 

In  the  particular  machine  in  point  (a  "Century"  press 
with  a  bed  39x53  inches),  each  side  of  the  bed  was  geared 
to  its  corresponding  end  of  the  cylinder,  a  fact  which  1 
observed  made  a  complete  squaring  between  the  bed  and 
cylinder.  Whether  it  was  due  to  this,  or  to  the  easy 
swing  of  the  new  reciprocating  device  used,  1  do  not 
know,  but  the  bed  travelled  in  such  a  swift  and  quiet  man- 
ner that  my  hand  upon  the  frame  could  scarcely  detect  the 
moment  of  reverse. 

The  other  point,  and  the  second  of  the  two  which  1 
consider  the  principal  improvements  made  in  presses 
within  recent  years,  relates  to  the  new  method  of  obtain- 
ing and  maintaining  a  powerful  and  absolutely  precise  de- 
gree of  impression,  which,  also,  Mr.  Wood  has  contrived 
and  embodied,  with  his  continuous  register  gearing,  in  the 
"Century"  Press.  Mr.  Wood's  arrangement  consists  in 
first  putting  down  a  center  stay,  beneath  the  bed,  which 
is  several  times  stiffer  than  any  heretofore  used,  and  in 
bringing  about  the  uprights  which  support  the  cylinder 
the  principal  mass  of  the  side  frames.  He  constructs  the 
cylinder  upon  a  new  plan  of  internal  webbing  and  with 
cylinder  journals  whose  strength  is  approximately  30  per 
cent,  greater  than  that  employed  in  any  other  method  of 
press  construction.  Having  secured  the  highest  degree  of 
rigidity  in  the  various  parts  an  ingenious  arrangement  of 


REGARDING    "CENTURY"    PRESSES.  36 1 

eccentric  raising-and-lowering  mechanism  controls  the 
cylinder  journals,  by  reason  of  which,  at  each  impression, 
the  cylinder  may  be  brought  to  a  positive  point,  which 
is  not  open  to  variance,  where  it  will  remain  throughout 
the  varying  strains  incident  to  the  working  of  a  mixed 
form  of  type  without  yielding  its  position  even  to  the 
thickness  of  a  tissue;  thus  the  usual  difficulty  experienced 
with  two-revolution  presses,  which  arises  from  the  cylin- 
der not  coming  down  with  exactness  to,the  same  position 
for  successive  impressions,  is  entirely  eliminated,  and  a 
fixedness  and  certainty  of  impress  is  secured  instead. 

And  further  than  this  has  Mr.  Wood  gone  in  his 
novel  conception  that  the  proper  normal  position  for  a 
cylinder  journal  is  against  the  top  of  its  bearing  and 
not  against  the  bottom  as  is  the  case  in  all  other  ma- 
chines. In  this  he  is  certainly  right,  for  whenever,  as  in 
other  machines,  a  cylinder  is  called  upon  to  impress 
the  type  beneath  it,  it  must  first  be  lifted  in  its  bearings 
until  its  journals  bear  against  their  upper  sides  before  a 
pressure  of  more  than  the  weight  of  the  cylinder  can  be 
brought  to  bear  in  the  act  of  printing.  Thus  it  is  nec- 
essary for  each  row  of  pages  as  it  passes  beneath  the  cyl- 
inder to  lift  the  cylinder  until  all  the  lost  motion  in  the 
upper  part  of  its  bearings  is  taken  up,  which  is  a  decided 
mechanical  fault  that  not  only  is  injurious  to  the  front 
edge  of  the  pages  which  must  do  the  lifting,  but  also  to 
the  back  edge  of  the  pages  as  well  from  off  which  the 
cylinder  rolls  as  it  drops  in  the  margin  behind.  By  Mr. 
Wood's  arrangement  the  cylinder,  contrary  to  all  other 
practice,  is  so  supported  that  the  journals  are  always 
against  the  upper  part  of  their  bearings ;  so,  there  being 
no  lost  motion  above  the  cylinder  journals,  the  pages  are 
not  called   upon  to  lift  the   cylinder,  for  the  lifting  has 


;)(:)2  MAKING   A   PROFIT   ON   SMALL   WORK. 

already  been  mechanically  accomplished,  and  thus  is 
overcome  the  usual  tendency  of  the  cylinder  to  drop  in  the 
margins — a  fault  that  causes  more  damage  to  plates  and 
type  than  perhaps  any  other  that  may  be  attributed  to  a 
printing  machine. 

In  many  other  ways  the  "  Century  "  press  represents 
the  highest  development  that  press-building  has  yet 
attained,  but  in  this  paper  I  have  endeavored  to  illustrate 
only  what  I  consider  to  be  the  chief  additions  that  the  past 
decade  has  brought  to  the  two-revolution  press,  and  will 
leave  the  rest  to  a  future  paper  with  the  closing  remark 
that  with  respect  to  other  problems  as  well  Mr.  Wood 
has  shown  himself  to  be  the  most  virile  inventor  that  has 
worked  for  the  printing  industry  in  the  present  genera- 
tion, and  any  machine  that  bears  the  stamp  of  his  genius 
may  be  accepted  as  the  very  best  that  can  be  devised. 

(Signed)  Chas.  H.  Cochrane. 


MAKING  A  PROFIT  ON  SMALL  WORK. 

Probably  every  job  printer  at  one  time  or  another  has 
been  astonished  at  the  low  figure  some  competitor  has 
made  on  an  order  of  envelopes,  cards,  circulars,  etc.,  and 
has  regarded  such  competitor  as  a  reckless  price-cutter, 
or  as  having  made  a  mistake  in  figuring.  The  conclusion 
should  not  be  reached  too  hastily,  for  it  may  be  only  a 
case  of  having  improved  machinery,  which  reduces  cost 
to  such  a  degree  that  the  happy  possessor  of  the  machine 
is  making  a  good  thing  at  prices  that  would  ruin  a  user 
of  older  styles  of  presses.     Take  for  instance  an  order  of 


MAKING   A   PROFIT  ON   SMALL   WORK.  365 

100,000  No.  6  envelopes.  A  has  Gordon  presses,  run  by 
power,  with  cheap  boy  labor  to  do  the  feeding.  He 
figures  that  he  can  do  the  100,000  in  ten  days  on  an 
eighth  medium,  and  that  the  time  of  the  boy  and  press 
will  yield  him  a  close  profit  at  $50,  so  he  makes  his 
estimate  on  that  basis.  B  has  a  pony  cylinder,  and 
figures  that  he  can  put  on  a  duplicate  form  with  a  feeder 
at  each  side  of  the  cylinder,  and  by  speeding  up  the  ma- 
chine, can  put  the  job  through  in  three  days'  time  at  a 
cost,  including  all  charges,  of  $30  for  the  presswork. 
C  has  a  Harris  automatic  press  that  feeds  itself,  and  will 
turn  out  the  entire  job  in  one  day  of  nine  hours,  at  a  shop 
cost  of  only  $6,  and  involve  $5  less  waste  of  stock 
on  the  job.  What  wonder  then,  that  A  should  look 
with  horror  upon  Es  price,  and  that  B  should  view  with 
equal  horror  the  estimate  of  C,  who  has  perhaps  charged 
$25  for  the  presswork,  and  taken  the  job,  making  more 
than  B  could  have  made  had  he  charged  $45  for  the 
presswork,  or  A  had  he  charged  $70.  Yet,  C  should 
not  be  criticised  for  cuttihg  prices.  He  has  simply  shown 
that  he  is  an  up-to-date  man,  who  has  abandoned 
old  methods  in  favor  of  the  new. 

Or,  suppose  that  it  is  a  job  of  circulars,  6x9  inches, 
also  100,000  impressions.  A  with  his  Gordons  can 
make  no  better  price  than  on  the  envelopes,  and  must 
charge  at  least  $50  for  the  presswork  to  clear  himself  on 
the  job.     B  makes  a  price  this  way: 

Eight  electrotype  plates  at  80  cents,           .  $6  40 

12,500  impressions  on  a  cylinder  at  $1,      .  12  50 

Make-ready,             i   50 

Spoilage  of  paper,                               .         .  i   00 

Total  .         .  $21  40 

C  simply  makes  two  electros  for  his  Harris  au- 
tomatic press,  and  runs  the  job  off  with  a  hand  feeder 
in  two  days,  making  his  price  this  way: 

Two  curved  electros  at  $  I  each,       .         .         .      $2  00 
Make-ready  and  two  days'  time  of  press,  .       12  00 

Total       .        .        .    $14  00 


^ 


364  MAKING   A   PROFIT  ON   SMALL   WORK. 

Again  it  is  more  than  plain  that  C  can  take  the  job 
away  from  either  A  or  B,  and  yet  make  a  great  deal 
more  money  on  it. 

Suppose  another  case  of  a  lot  of  small  jobs  to  be  done: 
Call  it  four  lots  of  envelopes  of  1,000,  2,000,  2, 500  and 
4,000  respectively;  one  5,000  run  of  billheads;  one 
20,000  run  of  cards;  one  15,000  run  of  tags;  and  2,000 
circulars.  The  time  on  a  Gordon  would  be  fully  14  hours 
for  the  envelopes;  7  hours  for  the  billheads;  8  hours  for  the 
cards  (four  on) ;  1 8  hours  for  the  tags,  and  3  hours  for  the  cir- 
culars, a  total  of  50  hours,  at  a  cost  of  $25  for  the  press- 
work.  A  Harris  press  would  do  the  four  lots  of  envelopes 
in  two  hours, 'the  actual  running  time  being  less  than  an 
hour ;  an  hour  and  a  half  would  perhaps  be  taken  for  the  bill- 
heads, by  hand  feed;  two  and  a  half  hours  for  the  20,000 
cards,  with  automatic  feed;  two  hours  for  the  tags,  and 
half  an  hour  for  the  circulars,  a  total  of  eight  and  a  half 
hours,  or  call  it  a  day,  at  a  cost  of  $6,  which  cost  is  but 
25  percent,  of  what  it  would  be  on  the  Gordons. 

As  the  Harris  press  takes  a  quarter  sheet  of  22 >^  X28}4 
inches  card  or  tag  board  and  prints  the  same  at  the  rate 
of  10,000  or  12,000  impressions  per  hour,  cylinder 
presses  running  a  full  sheet  "  four  on,"  would  have  to  be 
credited  with  the  three  extra  plates,  imposition  and  make- 
ready  at  no  cost  whatever,  and  be  run  at  a  maintained 
speed  of  3,400  per  hour  to  equal  the  economy  of  the 
Harris. 

Where  there  are  numerous  changes  of  forms  to  be  made 
on  a  job,  the  Harris  automatic  press  gives  as  much  advan- 
tage over  other  machines  as  it  does  in  the  cases  of  the 
long  and  short  runs  noted.  A  record  of  50,000  impres- 
sions per  day  has  been  made  where  the  work  included 
250  changes  of  the  form.  In  such  work  the  man  with  the 
Gordon  or  the  pony  cylinder  is  again  distanced. 

Not  only  does  the  Harris  press  with  the  automatic  feed 
admit  of  a  speed  ten  or  twelve  times  as  great  as  that  of  a 
platen  jobber,  but  it  reduces  the  waste  of  stock  ninety  per 
cent,  and  permits  make-ready  in  about  half  the  time. 


MAKING   A   PROFIT   ON   SMALL   WORK.  365 

The  press  is  made  in  two  sizes,  12x12  and  15x18  inches, 
and  being  adapted  to  use  either  curved  electros  or  stereos, 
or  type  boxes,  or  a  combination  of  type  and  plates,  it 
becomes  practical  for  a  great  variety  of  work.  For  en- 
velopes and  cards  it  has  an  automatic  feed,  and  may  be 
run  at  from  10,000  to  15,000  impressions  an  hour.  Paper 
has  to  be  hand  fed,  and  then  the  speed  is  from  3,000  to 
5,000  an  hour,  according  to  the  ability  of  the  feeder.  The 
reason  why  a  hand  feeder  can  supply  the  sheets  at  such 
speeds  is  that  the  stock  has  to  be  moved  only  a  few 
inches,  that  the  front  register  is  automatic,  and  because 
no  offset  or  damage  can  result  when  he  misses  a  sheet. 

The  speed  with  which  make-ready  is  done  is  owing 
partly  to  the  accessibility  or  the  tympan  cylinder,  but  more 
to  the  fact  that  in  printing  from  a  small  cylindrical  surface 
only  a  line  at  a  time  touches  the  paper,  requiring  such  a 
trifling  pressure  that  no  make-ready  is  required  to  take  up 
the  spring  of  the  metal  parts  of  the  machine,  as  in  a  platen 
press.  The  plates  are  also  clamped  in  such  a  way  that 
underlaying  can  be  done  very  expeditiously.  No  diffi- 
culty is  experienced  in  securing  curved  electrotype  and 
stereotype  plates  for  the  Harris  press,  as  an  inexpensive 
stereotyping  apparatus  can  be  supplied  to  users  in  coun- 
try places,  and  in  the  cities  any  electrotyper  can  supply 
curved  electros  by  the  use  of  a  bender  supplied  by  the 
makers  of  the  Harris  press. 

The  Harris  automatic  press  costs  less  to  buy  than  a 
cylinder  press  and  occupies  much  less  floor  space.  It 
will  turn  out  twice  as  much  work  as  can  be  had  from  a 
number  of  Gordons  involving  the  same  price  of  purchase, 
and  it  can  be  run  by  one  man.  It  does  not  feed  paper  from 
the  web,  but  feeds  envelopes  and  cards  automatically  from 
the  bottom  of  the  pile,  so  that  more  can  be  laid  on  with- 
out stopping  the  machine.  When  running  at  a  14,000 
an  hour  speed,  the  attendant  is  kept  busy  supplying  piles 
of  stock  and  taking  away  the  printed  work  and  packing 
it.  In  fact,  the  machine  turns  out  work  so  fast  that  the 
only  complaint  of  users   is  that  they  cannot  get  enough 


^66  THE   GOLDING  JOBBER. 

work  to  keep  it  busy.  But  the  press  will  pay  for  itself 
over  and  over  even  when  there  is  not  work  to  keep  it 
going  half  the  time. 

Nothing  will  build  up  the  work  of  an  office  faster 
than  the  introduction  of  such  a  machine.  In  a  little  while 
merchants  learn  that  in  that  office  they  can  get  small  work 
in  great  quantity  in  a  very  short  time,  and  that  the  quality 
of  the  printing  is  uniformly  good,  and  the  count  full. 
These  are  advantages  enough,  and  it  is  not  necessary  for 
the  owner  of  a  Harris  automatic  press  to  shave  prices 
materially  to  get  work  for  it.  The  profits  made  by  the 
efficiency  of  the  machine  are  rightly  his  for  his  enterprise 
in  being  prompt  to  purchase  a  labor-saving  machine. 


THE  GOLDING  JOBBER— 7V£  PLUS  ULTRA. 

Every  printer  ought  to  know  whether  there  is  one  job 
press  better  than  others — one  that  will  save  him  or  earn  him 
$50  or  $100  more  than  some  other  press  in  a  given  time — 
but  unfortunately  for  the  craft  thousands  upon  thousands 
are  still  using  job  presses  that  are  cheap  or  slow,  because 
they  have  never  taken  the  pains  to  investigate  carefully 
and  learn  what  can  be  proven  to  a  mathemathical  cer- 
tainty, that  the  Golding  Jobber  is  in  a  marked  degree  the 
best  and  also  the  quickest  operating  of  any  in  the  world. 

The  long  row  of  Golding  presses  that  may  be  seen  in 
the  Lotus  Press,  New  York,  is  an  evidence  of  the  esteem 
in  which  they  are  held  in  that  printery,  and  scores  of 
other  offices  might  be  named  where  only  Golding  job 
presses  are  used  or  would  be  installed.  It  will  pay  any 
printer  to  throw  out  all  his  jobbers  of  the  Gordon  type 
and  to  get  rid  of  all  those  of  the  cylinder-distribution 
type,  and  to  buy  Golding  Jobbers  in  their  places,  because 


THE   GOLDING  JOBBER. 


367 


he  can  get  2,000  to  3,000  more  impressions  per  day  from 
the  latter,  as  shown  by  actual  experience.  Just  think 
what  this  means:  2,000  impressions  at  the  minimum  cost 


The  Golding  Jobber 


Courtesy  of  Golding  &  Co. 


of  50  cents  per  1,000  is  $1.00  a  day  greater  possibility,  or 
a  product  that  may  be  $300  better  in  a  year  than  on  in- 
ferior machines.  The  Golding  can  be  run  faster  than  any 
other  press  ever  built,  and  will  stand  thirty  to  fifty  per 


^68  THE   GOLDING  JOBBER. 

cent,  more  speed  without  deterioration,  because  of  these 
absolute  mechanical  advantages: 

I. — The  main  frame  is  all  oi  one  single  casting 
and  not  made  up  of  parts  bolted  together.  In 
other  presses  the  bearings  get  out  of  line,  the  cor- 
ners of  the  press  settling  with  the  unevenness  of 
the  floor. 

2. — The  quick  return  of  the  platen  allows  a 
quarter  to  a  third  more  time  for  feeding  the  sheet 
than  on  any  other  press. 

These  two  features  alone  make  the  Golding  press  in- 
valuable as  compared  with  others.  It  will  stand  being 
run  faster,  and  the  feeder  has  the  time  to  do  faster  work. 
We  have  letters  by  the  hundred  showing  that  printers 
run  Goldings  day  in  and  day  out  at  2,000  to  3,000  im- 
pressions an  hour.  Do  you  get  any  such  results  from 
your  Qordons  ? 

As  compared  with  the  cylinder-distribution  type  of 
job  presses,  which  are  admittedly  slow,  but  do  work  su- 
perior to  the  Gordon,  the  Golding  can  demonstrate  that 
it  is  as  strong  as  the  strongest,  and  that  it  gives  better  ink 
distribution — mind  you,  not  "as  good,"  but  better — than 
any  of  them,  and  at  twice  the  speed.  The  average 
printer  knows  that  the  Gordon  style  of  job  press  is 
designed  to  be  simple,  cheap  and  quick,  and  that  the  cyl- 
inder-distribution press  was  designed  to  give  the  quality 
of  printing  of  a  rack-and-screw-distribution  cylinder  press, 
at  a  sacrifice  of  the  Gordon's  speed.  The  Golding  press 
was  especially  designed  to  give  both  speed  and  quality, 
and  it  gives  more  of  both  than  the  other  machines,  besides 
having  numerous  minor  conveniences  all  its  own.  Ink 
distribution  is  maintained  at  little  friction  by  retaining  the 
ink  disk.     The  quality  of  this  distribution  is  kept  up  to 


THE  GOLDING  JOBBER.  369 

the  high  standard  required  for  the  best  modern  printing, 
by  a  peculiar  fountain,  having  a  cylinder  of  large  diameter 
on  which  the  ink  is  spread  finely  and  then  transferred  in 
a  distributed  condition  to  the  disk.  This  gives  excellent 
results,  but  the  story  is  only  half  told,  for  the  Golding 
has  another  ink  distributing  surface  below  the  type  bed. 
The  form  rollers  run  on  to  this  on  the  down  stroke,  and 
receive  a  new  coating  of  ink,  so  that  when  they  return 
across  the  form  there  is  almost  the  result  of  double 
rolling. 

We  have  only  outlined  the  larger  advantages  and 
improvements  in  the  Golding  Jobber;  but  the  presses  are 
full  of  good  points  unknown  to  other  machines.  The 
platen  is  so  hinged,  and  so  pulled  up  against  the  bed^and 
squeezed,  that  there  is  no  chance  or  possibility  of  slip  or 
slur,  no  matter  whether  the  form  is  in  or  out  of  center. 

In  the  average  printing  office  where  Gordons  are  run 
the  boys  usually  waste  half  an  hour  a  day  per  machine 
fiddling  with  the  impression  screws,  or  if  they  do  not  it 
is  because  there  is  a  rule  enforced  that  they  must  leave 
them  alone  and  depend  on  the  bearers  to  balance  the  im- 
pression. These  bearers  take  up  room  in  the  chase  and 
reduce  the  capacity  of  a  half  medium  to  a  quarto,  or  a 
quarto  to  an  eighth.  On  the  Golding  the  whole  nuisance 
is  avoided.  There  are  no  impression  screws,  but  slides 
under  the  platen  like  those  of  a  Hempel  quoin,  and  a  little 
finger-screw  at  one  side  sets  the  whole  platen  in  or 
out  with  a  twist  or  two,  in  such  a  way  that  it  cannot  get 
out  of  square. 

The  chase  of  a  Golding  may  be  filled  full  of  the  heaviest 
sort  of  matter  and  the  whole  of  the  form  will  be  properly 
inked  and  bear  a  proper  impression;  further,  a  single 
line  may  be  worked  at  the  bottom  of  the  chase  without 


370  THE  GOLDING  JOBBER. 

slurring.  Under  all  conditions  the  Golding  disk  distribu- 
tion press  is  the  least  destructive  of  rollers.  With 
several  rollers  running  constantly  and  three  others 
intermittently,  upon  a  cylinder,  heat  is  produced  by 
friction  in  proportion  to  the  stiffness  of  ink  used,  and  to 
speed.  The  greater  the  heat,  the  sooner  the  rollers  lose 
their  surface  or  become  melted.  A  disk  press  presents  no 
such  obstacle.  The  disk  distribution  press,  as  typified  by 
the  Golding  Jobber,  affords  facilities  for  the  regulation  of 
the  ink  supply  by  the  operator  standing  at  the  front  of  the 
press.  This  cannot  be  done  on  a  press  with  cylindrical 
distribution. 

The  printer  who  realizes  that  he  is  not  making  what 
he  should  from  his  job  pressroom  is  invited  to  write  at 
once  to  Golding  &  Co.,  177-199  Fort  Hill  Square,  Boston, 
or  to  the  branch  offices  in  New  York,  Philadelphia  and 
Chicago,  and  learn  the  terms  on  which  he  can  apply  a 
remedy  that  will  increase  his  output  20  per  cent. 

Golding  &  Co.  also  build  two  *' Art  Jobbers,"  and  a 
light  job  press  called  the  "Pearl,"  Fairhaven  cylinder 
presses,  paper  cutters,  chases  and  small  tools  generally 
for  the  printery,  besides  furniture  of  all  descriptions. 
They  furnish  complete  outfits  for  the  printer  and  are 
always  glad  to  make  up  estimates.  They  have  earned 
an  enviable  reputation  for  carrying  good  goods  and  deal- 
ing fairly  with  everybody. 


WHY  NOT  MAKE  MONEY  BY  BUYING  A  PRESS 
THAT  WILL  LAST  A  LIFETIME  ? 

The  Whitlock  presses  are  the  greatest  money-makers 
ever  placed  in  a  printing  office,  and  one  reason  for  this  is 
that  they  will  outwear  anything  else  in  a  printing  plant. 
When  purchasing  a  press  the  printer  requires  to  disregard 
all  "pretty"  talk  and  assertion,  and  to  get  down  to  the 
bald  iron  and  steel  that  he  is  buying.  He  wants  the  best 
combination  of  these,  and  he  wastes  his  money  if  he  buys 
any  other. 

In  considering  the  Whitlock  press  we  can  afford  to 
discuss  the  mechanical  details,  because  we  know  we  have 
the  best  construction,  and  that  we  can  prove  it  to  the 
printer  who  will  give  close  attention. 

A  human  crank  is  not  always  a  good  thing,  but  in 
machinery  the  crank  is  an  ideal  motion.  In  steam  engines, 
locomotives,  and  other  high-speed  machines  nothing  was 
ever  found  so  good  as  the  simple  crankfor  converting  recip- 
rocal (that  is  back-and-forth)  motion  into  rotary  motion. 
In  a  printing  press,  manufacturers  have  to  contend  with 
much  the  same  problem  as  in  the  steam  engine,  because 
the  motion  of  the  cylinder  is  rotary  and  of  the  bed  recip- 
rocal, and  these  must  work  together  in  unison.  All 
cylinder  press  builders  would  undoubtedly  use  a  simple 
crank  motion  for  the  bed,  as  in  the  steam  engine,  if  they 
were  not  prevented  by  the  fact  that  this  requires  an  un- 
even speed  of  the  cylinder,  and  that  means  a  slow  press. 
So  they  have  to  resort  to  compromises,  and  hence  the 
numerous  bed-motions  of  cylinder  presses. 


}']2  THE   WHITLOCK   PRESS. 

It  is  because  the  Whitlock  has  the  most  simple,  dur- 
able and  accurate  of  these  substitutes  for  the  crank  that  it 
is   the   most   durable  and  reliable  of  the  two-revolution 

presses  on  the 
market.  The 
bed-motion  as 
here  illustrated 
is  virtually  the 

crank  move- 
Whitlock  Bed  Motion,  ^^^^    ^f    ^^^ 

stop  cylinder  modified  by  elliptical  gears,  which  adapt  it 
to  high  speeds.  It  will  be  remembered  that  in  its  time 
the  stop  cylinder  was  the  press  of  all  presses  for  fine  work 
and  sure  register,  and  that  its  only  fault  was  its  slowness. 
Now  that  the  Whitlock  has  so  modified  and  improved 
the  bed-motion  of  the  stop  cylinder  that  it  can  be  used  on 
a  two-revolution  high  speed  press,  there  simply  remains 
nothing  more  to  be  desired  in  this  direction — the  ne 
plus  ultra  is  reached. 

Other  presses  may  run  fast,  may  give  good  register, 
good  inking,  etc.,  but  as  sure  as  iron  is  iron  no  one  of  them 
will  continue  to  give  these  good  results  for  many  years 
without  rebuilding,  because  of  the  trappy,  complicated 
bed  motions,  whereas  in  the  Whitlock  we  have  a  motion 
so  fundamentally  simple  that  it  can  be  run  indefinitely 
like  the  crank  of  the  steam  engine,  and  will  work  satis- 
factorily after  years  and  years  of  hard  wear. 

Because  of  this  sure  and  simple  bed-movement  the 
Whitlock  presses  do  not  lose  ability  to  register  accurately, 
and  the  jars  of  reversal  are  absorbed  in  the  heavy  parts  of 
the  machine,  and  do  not  tend  to  rattle  it  to  pieces.  The 
Whitlock  presses  will  stand  more  over-speeding  and  hard 
usage     than    any    other    two-revolution    presses    built. 


THE   WHITLOCK    PRESS.  373 

They  are  made  to  stand  abuse,  and  no  master  printer  can 
tell  when  he  buys  a  press  how  much  abuse  it  will  be  sub- 
jected to  by  his  workmen. 

The  tipping  ink  fountain  of  the  Whitlock  being  more 
adjustable  than  any  other  made,  it  is  not  necessary  to  fill 
the  fountain  for  short  runs  of  special  inks,  as  it  will  use 
up  the  ink  to  the  last  half  pound  without  allowing  the 
sheets  to  run  light  in  color.  This  saves  time  in  pushing 
down  ink,  and  waste  of  stock  as  v  3II  as  ink,  and  is  not 
to  be  found  on  any  competing  machine.  The  ductor  roll 
deposits  the  ink  on  the  first  vibrator,  instead  of  on  the  table, 
so  that  the  ink  reaches  the  plate  in  a  distributed  condition. 

The  roller  construction  i:>  strictly  up-to-date,  all  angle 
rollers  being  gear-driven,  and  rollers  being  interchange- 
able, so  that  worn  form  rollers  may  be  used  as 
distributors. 

The  impression  is  very  rigid  and  even.  Four  full- 
length  and  very  wide  steel-faced  tracks,  supported  by 
very  heavy  arched  girders,  and  supplied  with  many  more 
than  the  usual  number  of  steel  friction  rollers  (which  run 
free  and  uncontrolled  like  a  ball-bearing)  support  the  bed. 
The  cylinder  and  type-bed  are  cast  heavier  and  are  sup- 
ported by  stronger  arms,  journals,  etc.,  than  is  usual  on 
other  makes  of  presses,  and  to  spring  either  bed  or  cyl- 
inder is  impossible.  The  box-like  construction  of  the  bed 
is  new  and  patented,  and  insures  double  the  stiffness  of 
the  ordinary  construction.  Instead  of  being  made  of  open 
ribbed  work  on  the  under  side,  the  lower  portion  is  all 
closed  in  with  solid  metal,  the  weight  being  lightened  by 
box-like  cavities,  opening  at  the  sides.  Thus  a  result  is 
obtained  that  makes  the  bed  practically  as  strong  against 
springing  as  if  it  were  of  solid  metal  throughout  the 
thickness. 


374  THE   WHITLOCK   PRESS. 

Both  impression  trip  and  .back-up  are  supplied,  a 
combination  not  found  in  some  other  presses  claimed  to 
be  first-class.  The  air-springs  are  connected,  so  that  a 
single  adjustment  at  either  end  of  press  sets  both  springs 
at  once,  saving  time  and  insuring  the  proper  resistance  in 
reversing  the  bed. 

The  cylinder  of  the  Whitlock  is  15  to  20  per  cent. 
larger  than  on  competing  machines,  thus   reducing  the 

wear  on  plates  and 
type.  Notwith- 
standing the  larger 
cylinder  and  greater 
curve  for  reversal 
of  the  bed,  the 
Whitlock  is  posi- 
tively a  shorter, 
Whitlock  Press.  narrower  and  lower 

machine  for  size  of  form,  than  any  other  make  in  the 
market,  owing  to  simplicity  of  design  and  structure. 
This  means  less  floor  space,  less  power,  less  shock  in 
reversing  the  bed,  and  consequent  greater  speed  and 
durability,  besides  some  economy  in  time  in  working 
around  a  smaller  machine. 

Flyless  and  tapeless  *' printed-side-up  "  front  delivery 
is  supplied  in  place  of  the  fly  when  desired.  The  press 
is  also  fitted  with  all  the  latest  conveniences  in  the  way 
of  handling  rollers,  adjusting  tympan,  etc.  There  is  no 
desirable  feature  on  any  other  two-revolution  press  that 
is  not  found  as  good  or  better  on  the  Whitlock  machine, 
and  it  has  many  little  devices — time-saving  devices — not 
found  on  any  other  press. 

In  the  Whitlock  shops  is  a  machine  especially  designed 
for  testing  each  press  made  for  exactness  of  register  and 


THE   WHITLOCK    PRESS.  375 

positive  absence  of  slur.  This  machine  they  control,  and 
no  other  manufacturer  has  the  means  of  applying  any 
such  careful  tests.  When  you  buy  a  Whitlock  you 
know  the  machine  will  be  in  perfect  running  order  the 
moment  it  is  put  together  on  your  floor.  How  many 
printers  have  suffered  losses  from  the  presses  that  had  to 
be  tinkered  with  for  weeks  or  months  after  starting  before 
they  were  in  correct  working  condition? 

Write  for  descriptive  catalogue. 

Manufactured  by  the  Whitlock  Printing  Press  Manufac- 
turing Company.     Sales  offices — New  York,    121   Times 
Building;    Boston,    10   Mason    Building;    Chicago,    706 
Fisher  Building;  Works,  Derby,  Conn. 
.  Southern  Agents,  J.  H.  Schroeter&  Bro.,  Atlanta,  Ga. 

European  Agents,  T.  W.  &  C.  B.  Sheridan,  46  Farring- 
don  Street,  London,  Eng. 


^ntommott  l^^ptvs  for 


6^)^6m^6^)^5¥)^&^^6^^6^)^6m^6^^ 


to  what  straits  old  Time  reduces  ♦ 

f    Frail  man,  when  P  a  p  E  R — even  a  R  a  g  like  this,  > 
;    Survives  himself,  his  tomb  and  all  that's  his — Don  "Juan. 

Old  Stratford   Cotton   Rag    Deckle,    American  and 

Foreign  Hand-made,  Japan,  Plate,  St.  James  Antique  ' 

'    Rag,  St.  George  English  Finish  Vellum  Deckle,  Dres-  1 

den  Half-tone,  Porcelaine  Art  Enamel,  Rag  Covers,  ■{ 

\    Opaque  Bible,  and  Other  Uncommon  Papers.^^^^^^  j 


ff^.  ,J.  ^psivo'Rj'Hr 

At    the    Sign    of  The   Wasp    Number 

Seventy   Y  \  Yi:  n    Avenue  ^t\SS  ^Offi 
Telephone   Number   2219    Eighteenth  Street 


THE 


HUBER 


CRANK  MOVEMENT 
TWO   REVOLUTION   PRESS 

The  most  perfect  modern  printing  machine  of  the  age. 

Showing  the  highest  rates  of  speed,  without  vibration. 

Combining  the  greatest  strength  with  the  least  wear 
and  tear. 

The  largest  number  of  conveniences,  producing  equiva- 
lent economies. 

The  finest  in  mechanical  excellence  and  superb  con- 
struction. 

THE  GREATEST  MONEY  MAKER  OF  THEM  ALL 

VAN    ALLENS    &    BOUGHTON 

SOLE     SELLING    AGENTS 

59  Ann  St  NEW  YORK  17-23  Rose  St. 


H.  W.  THORNTON 
277  Dearborn  Street,  Chicago 

HADWEN  SWAIN  M'F'G.  CO. 
215    Spear    Street,    San     Francisco 


MILLER  &  RICHARD 
7  Jordan  Street,  Toronto,  Ont. 

P.  LAWRENCE 
57  Shoe  Lane,  London,  E.  C. 


J 


^    LL*    LlJNDti  2Uto222 

=^=— ^==^=^^    WiUiam  St. 

New    York 


PAPER  CO. 

MANUFACTURERS  AND 
WHOLESALE      DEALERS 

Super  Calendered  and  Machine  Finished 

Book^  News^  Poster 
and   Blotting  Papers 

Flat   and  Ruled   Writings,  Linens,  Bonds   and  Ledgers, 
Cards  and  Cardboards,  Envelopes,  Pads,  etc. 

In  our  Wrapping    Paper  Department 

Wc  carry  a  large  line  of 

No.  i  and  No.  2  Manila  Wrapping  in  the  roll,  flat  and 
folded ;  Fibre,  Express,  Drug  and  Mottled  Wrappers 
in  the  roll  and  folded 

Large  line  of 

IMPORTED  JAPANESE  NAPKINS 


T^  DUPLEX 

PERFECTING  NEWSPAPER  PRESS 


SPEED  WITHOUT  STEREOTYPING 

SIX  THOUSAND  4,  6  OR  8 -PAGE 
PAPERS  PER  HOUR  PRINTED,  PASTED 
AND     FOLDED     FROM     FLAT     FORMS 


Nearly  200  of  these  Presses  "^f  "'*^,.'" 

•^  daily    operation 

throughout  the  United  States,  from  Maine  to  Texas,  and  from  Florifla 
to  Oregon:  also  in  England,  Prance,  Belgium,  Australia,  Holland, 
South  Africa,  Ontario,  Quebec,  Manitoba,  New  Brunswick  and 
Newfoundland. 

THE  DEMAND  FOR  THIS  MACHINE  IS  CON- 
STANTLY GROWING,  AND  TAXES  TO  THE 
UTMOST  OUR  FACILITIES  FOR  MEETING  IT 


ADDRESS 

Duplex  Printing  Press  Co 

BATTLE    CREEK,    MICH. 


One  Hundred  Per 
Cent   Per  Year! 


Next  to  the  paper,  the  most 
expensive  item  in  the  cost 
of  producing  printed  matter 
is  labor.  You  spend  a  great 
deal  of  time  and  money  in 
trying  to  save  a  very  small 
percentage  on  your  stocK, 
and  sometimes  get  an  infer= 
ior  quality  by  so  doing.  Do 
you  realize  that  on  your 
composition  you  can  save 
fifteen  to  fifty  per  cent  by 
making  an  investment  of  a 
ridiculously  small  amount? 


50 

to 

100 

per 

cent 

per 

year 

is  the  very  least  it  will  net 
you.  Strange  as  it  seems, 
w^hile  it  costs  you  less  to 
produce  it,  your  worR  will  be 
greatly  improved  in  appear= 
ance  and  will  suit  your  cus= 
tomer  better.  If  you  are  not 
yet  informed  about  Standard 
Line  Unit  Set  type— the  most 
important  advance  in  type= 
founding  of  the  century  — 

Write  for  further  particulars  to 

Inland  Type  Foundry 

217  =  219   Pine    St.,   Saint   Louis 


PLEDGED 

TO    THE    PRINTER 
AND  PLATEMAKER 


^YPOTHETAE  AND  PLATE- 
MAKER  prints  more  original 
matter  every  month — matter 
prepared  especially  and  exclu- 
sively for  its  columns  by  suc- 
cessful men  in  the  business — 
than  any  other  printing;  trades' 
journal* 

It  does  not  hire  as  much 
matter  written,  of  the  cut-and- 
dried  order,  nor  copy  as  much 
that  has  been  uttered  at  one 
time  or  another,  but  it  has, 
for  a  longfer  time,  printed  the  best  thougfhts  and  trade 
experiences  of  the  best  men,  prepared  expressly  for  its 
columns. 

TYPOTHETAE  AND  PLATEMAKER  is 
pled§;ed  to  promote  the  business  well-being  of  printers  and 
platemakers. 

It  is  an  animated,  interesting,  instructive  and  profit- 
able journal* 

FOLLOW   ITS  TEACHINGS  AND   YOU  WILL 
MAKE  MONEY  IN  THE  PRINTING  BUSINESS 


READ  IT.  LOOK  AT  ITS  TYPOGRAPHY 

SUBSCRIBE  FOR  IT.  ADVERTISE  IN   IT 


Typothetae    AND    Platemaker 


4J7  PINE  STREET,  ST.  LOUIS 


HENRY 

LINDENMEYR 

&   SONS 


PAPER 

WAREHOUSE 


ALL  KINDS  OF  PAPER  MADE  TO  ORDER 


NOS*   32,   34   AND   36   BLEECKER   STREET 

BRANCH  WAREHOUSE,  20  BEEKMAN  STREET 

NEW   YORK 


RETURN       LIBRARY  SCHOOL  LIBRARY 

TO^^       2  South  Hall                                 642-2253     ^ 

LOAN  PERIOD  1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

ALL  BOOKS  AAAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS               , 

DUE   AS  STAMPED  BELOW 

MAY  20  19Bb 

.^ 

■ 

1 

' 

FORM  NO.  DD  18,  45m, 

^,7^          UNIVERSITY  OF 
BERKEl 

CALIFORNIA,  BERKELEY 
.EY,  CA  94720 

® 


LD  21-100to-2,'55 
(B139s22)476 


Ueneral  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


li 


